Mark your calendars, folks: March 27, 2018, is the last day you'll be able to add or buy Wii Points

I know what some of you are thinking: why the hell should I care if I can't buy Wii Points or add them to my Wii account after March 27, 2018? And, really, maybe you shouldn't care. If you don't own a Wii (or Wii U), or you own one but no longer use it, the fact that you'll no longer be able to buy or add Wii Points to your account after the above-mentioned date shouldn't bother you much.

If you do still own a use a Wii (or Wii U), though, you might appreciate the reminder that the Wii Virtual Console offers a lot of NES, Master System, Genesis, TurboGrafx-16, SNES and Neo Geo gems. (Don't take my word for it, check out this impressive list of North American Wii Virtual Console releases.)

Anyway, this news certainly bothers me. OK, so "bothers" may be too strong of a word, but it definitely saddens me a bit. That's because I still use my Wii fairly regularly. And not only that, but there are still a good number of Wii Virtual Console and WiiWare games I'd like to buy and play.

For instance, I've long meant to purchase Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom for the NES and Super Mario RPG for the SNES via the Wii Shop Channel. Also, Shining in the Darkness for the Genesis and Monster Lair for the TurboGrafx-16. (I own an actual copy of that last game, but you just know neither it nor my PC Engine Super CD-ROM2 system will last forever.)



As if that weren't bad enough, there are a ton of Japanese Virtual Console games I'd like to purchase before Nintendo pulls the plug on the Wii Shop Channel. Granted, doing so will require me to pick up a Japanese Wii, and I'm not sure that's in the cards at this point, but the point stands.

I mean, just look at some of the great games that have been made available via the Japanese Wii Virtual Console and nowhere else. Mizubaku Daibouken, Parasol Stars and Star Parodier for the PC Engine. Pepenga Pengo for the Mega Drive. Twinkle Star Sprites for the Neo Geo. Clock Tower, DoReMi Fantasy and Sutte Hakkun for the Super Famicom.

Is it really possible I'll buy a Japanese Wii as well as all of the above-mentioned Virtual Console titles  before March 27, 2018? (Technically, I wouldn't have to do the latter until January 31, 2019, but I'd have to purchase Wii Points for them by the earlier date.) Possible, sure, but I wouldn't call it likely. As always, though, I'll give it my best shot.

How about you? Will any of you spend your hard-earned cash on some Wii Points between now and the end of March so you can pick up a few final Wii Virtual Console games?

I'm not sure if this should be a congratulatory post or an RIP post--regardless, happy 63rd anniversary, Taito!

I haven't always been the Taito fan I am today. Oh, sure, I liked Arkanoid and Space Invaders well enough when I was a kid, and of course I loved (and continue to love) Bubble Bobble, too, but that's about where my knowledge of and interest in this Tokyo-based company began and ended until a few years ago.

What changed and when? To be completely honest, I'm not sure. The best answer I can come up with at the moment is that my perception and appreciation of Taito--which first opened its doors on Aug. 24, 1953--changed slowly over time.



If I were to guess, I'd say this evolution (of sorts) began when my adoration of the game-maker's Bubble Bobble pushed me to give follow-ups Rainbow Islands and Parasol Stars a second (or even third) look. Neither platformer impressed me when I first played them earlier in life, but revisiting them with fresh eyes and a clear mind prompted a nearly instantaneous change of heart.

The same could be said of Taito titles like Don Doko Don, KiKi KaiKai, Mizubaku Daibouken (aka Liquid Kids) and The New Zealand Story. As much as I wanted all of these games to bowl me over during my initial experiences with them, none succeeded for one reason or another.

Thankfully, my newfound attraction to Rainbow Islands and Parasol Stars caused me to give them a second chance--and now I'm a fan of each and every one. (Mizubaku Daibouken, especially--it's now one of my all-time favorite games.)



After that, I actively searched for similar Taito releases I skipped over during the time in my life when I was idiotically unaware of the company's brilliance. That bit of legwork turned me on to titles like Chack'n Pop, Chuka Taisen, Hana Taaka Daka!?, Insector X, Jigoku Meguri, JuJu Densetsu and The Fairyland Story.

I also loosened up and gave some of the portable versions of these games a spin. Previously, I turned up my nose at most of them because they either lacked color--the idea of playing Bubble Bobble on the original GameBoy horrified me at the time--or they just seemed too watered down to be worth my while.

Imagine my shock, then, when I found many of Taito's on-the-go ports to be surprisingly well made, not to mention enjoyable. A few cases in point: Bubble Bobble for Game Gear, Bubble Bobble Junior for GameBoy and Puzzle Bobble for Game Gear.

What makes all of these Taito-made games so great? Their graphics and soundtracks are the obvious replies, but they're really only the tip of the iceberg. They draw you in, but if the gameplay that supports those superficial aspects was anything but stellar, most people would walk away after plodding through a few stages.

That's the component that keeps me coming back to Taito's best creations, at least. Every single title mentioned so far controls like a dream. And not only that, but most of them simply are a blast to play. To get a feel for what I mean, go play a couple of rounds of Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands, Parasol Stars or Mizubaku Daibouken.

Despite the challenge that's at the core of each of these games, the component that's likely to stand out for most folks is how fun it is to blow and pop bubbles (Bubble Bobble), conjure up and leap onto rainbows (Rainbow Islands) and send a torrent of water crashing into a mob of stunned enemies (both Parasol Stars and Mizubaku Daibouken).



That's the kind of magic Taito's designers and developers produced during the company's heyday, and that's why I'm doing my best to (belatedly) honor them today. I'd highly recommend you do the same if you've got the interest, means and time, as there's no doubt in my mind that your life will be made richer for putting even a few minutes into some of the games discussed here.

Note: a hearty thank you goes out to my Twitter pal, TepidSnake, for making me aware of the 63rd anniversary of Taito's existence

A few more words on Satoru Iwata's passing

I know. I should've returned this blog to its "regularly scheduled programing" by now. Actually, that was the plan--until I came across a couple of things today that prompted me to push that back yet again so I could ruminate once more on the passing of Nintendo's Satoru Iwata.

Actually, I think most people would be hard-pressed to describe the post I published yesterday about Iwata's untimely death (due in some way to the "bile duct growth" he first told the world about last year) as some sort of meditation.

In my defense, I was in shock. It wasn't the kind of horrific, gut-wrenching shock that hits you when someone truly close to you dies (or even nearly dies, as the case may be), but it was shock all the same.

So, I cobbled together a few sentences that let the world--or at least the minuscule segment of it that frequents this blog--that this seemingly kind and gentle business leader (I say "seemingly" because I obviously didn't know the man personally, so all I can go on is the persona he presented to the public) had died and also passed along a couple of his most noteworthy professional accomplishments.

What those sentences failed to convey were many of my own feelings on the matter. Of course, what are you supposed to say when someone you didn't really know passes away?

Yes, I respected him greatly, I thoroughly enjoyed watching him "host" many of the "Nintendo Direct" videos the company he led for the last decade-plus occasionally offered the Internet-enabled masses and poring over the many "Iwata Asks" interviews that allowed him to geek out with fellow game creators has become one of my most-cherished pastimes in recent years, but even then it feels strange to admit that I'm genuinely sad that he's no longer alive.

This morning, though, I came across the following farewell message that was penned by Shigesato Itoi, who worked side by side with Iwata to wrap up development of Mother 2 (EarthBound) in 1994, and its tenderness moved to such an extent that I couldn't help but share it here:

No matter the farewell, I think the most appropriate thing to say is “we”ll meet again.” We are friends so we”ll see each other again. There is nothing strange about saying it. Yeah. We’ll meet again. 

Even if you didn’t have the chance to put into words how sudden it was going to be, how far you’d be traveling, or how you went much earlier than expected, I know you went wearing your best. 

You always put yourself second to others no matter what, helping anyone who needed it whenever they needed it. You were that kind of friend. Although you may have been a little selfish for the first time ever by taking this journey. 

The truth is though that I still don’t believe any of it. I feel like I am going to receive a message from you inviting me out to eat at any moment. I wouldn’t mind if you were to ask me like always if I had some free time. Even still, I’d ask you as well. 

Still, “we’ll meet again.” It would be great to hear from you whenever and wherever; I’ll being calling to you too. I’ll call if I have something to discuss or I want to tell you a great new idea I’ve had. 

We’ll meet again.

Then again, you’re here with me now.

(Note: the text above was translated by kamedani.tumblr.com, while Itoi's original words can be read at 1101.com.)

R.I.P. Satoru Iwata

I had a different post, about a game that's sure to interest at least a few folks who frequent this blog but is far from important (especially in grand scheme of things), all lined up to be published today, but then I heard that Satoru Iwata, who has served as Nintendo's president since 2002, had passed away.

In light of that sad, shocking news, I decided to move things around a bit and instead publish this too-brief post about the man who has, along with Shigeru Miyamoto, personified Nintendo for the last 10 to 15 years.

All that's known about Iwata's untimely passing at the moment is what the company shared in a simple note on its Japanese website last night:



"Nintendo Co., Ltd. deeply regrets to announce that President Satoru Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015 due to a bile duct growth."

Iwata's career in the gaming world began long before he took the reins at Nintendo, of course. First he worked for HAL Laboratory and helped produce titles like Balloon Fight, Hoshi no Kirby (Kirby's Adventure) and EarthBound.



In 1993, 10 years after Iwata started at the Tokyo-based Nintendo affiliate, he was named its president.

Seven years later, he joined Nintendo to head up its corporate planning division, and in 2002, Iwata succeeded Hiroshi Yamauchi in the company's corner office.

With all of that said, I'd just like to reiterate the message that makes up this post's headline: rest in peace, Mr. Iwata. You will be missed, and you will be remembered.

R.I.P. H.R. Giger

You may wonder why a gaming blog is offering up condolences regarding the sad and untimely death of Swiss artist H. R. Giger yesterday.

For starters, I'm doing so because I've been a big fan of Giger's work since I first encountered it while watching what has become one of my favorite films, Aliens. (Giger was responsible for the design of the eponymous creature that has been the focus of all four Alien movies.)

Each of the Alien films has spawned a number of video-game adaptations, of course, so I think Giger's death is well worth noting here for that fact alone--despite the fact that few, if any, of said adaptations have been all that enjoyable.

Another reason I'm noting and commemorating Giger's death here: his surreal designs were utilized in a handful of games over the years--Cyberdreams' spooky, point-and-click PC games, Dark Seed and Dark Seed II, as well as Hudson's Jaseiken Necromancer, a gory (for its time) PC Engine RPG, among them.

I've actually owned a copy of Jaseiken Necromancer for some time now (the photo above is of my own HuCard), but I've yet to play it because of the language barrier.

Maybe I'll finally pull it and my PC Engine Core Grafx II out soon and give them a go in honor of Giger's life. And, who knows, maybe I'll even use the experience as an excuse to re-start my Japanese studies?

RIP Arkedo Studio

It's always a sad day when a game-development studio closes its doors, but it's an especially sad one when the studio in question was known for putting out quality games.

Given that, it's likely that bucket-loads of tears are being wept in response to the news that no more games will be produced by Arkedo Studio, the company responsible for Big Bang Mini (DS), the Arkedo Series of XBLIG titles and Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit (XBLA, PSN and PC).

According to a blog post written by co-founder Aurelien Regard, the company "is still here. But no one’s employed anymore.

"Arkedo hasn’t closed down and is not bankrupt," he adds, but "no more games are [being] produced, either."

Fans of Arkedo Studio's past efforts may take a bit of solace in the fact that two "small" and as-yet-unknown games will still be released by the company, although Regard didn't say when that will happen or which systems will be the recipient of them.

See also: 'Five XBLIG games you should have played, but probably didn't' and 'Shucks, this could have been a cool game ...'

RIP Nintendo Power

I know I'm a little LTTP when it comes to this RIP, but the truth is I wasn't planning to write about this rather sad occasion (Nintendo Power's December 2012 issue will be its last), mainly because I haven't flipped through a copy of the magazine in ages.

Then I came across a photo I took a few years back of Nintendo Power's first issue (below and here), and it brought to mind all sorts of amazingly fond memories.

One of them: If memory serves, the issue above was sent to me and my brother shortly after we acquired our NES. Although we were quite content with the pack-in title (Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt), those first images of Super Mario Bros. 2 blew our young minds.

In fact, I'm pretty sure the timing of Super Mario Bros. 2's announcement and release is solely responsible for Mario's first sequel (in the US) becoming my favorite of all his two-dimensional adventures.

Nintendo Power's second issue (above and here) was only slightly less amazing than its first thanks to features that focused on Bionic Commando and Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. (Oh, and more Super Mario Bros. 2, of course.)

And then, in the magazine's fourth issue (below and here), we got both a (somewhat disturbing due to its use of mannequins) cover image devoted to and a review of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, another game that--at the time, at least--completely rocked my world.

(To see an early Nintendo Power cover that I'm much more fond of, check out this photo of the July/August 1989 issue. Claymation Mega Man FTW!)

Will any of you be sad to see Nintendo Power go the way of the Dodo? If so, what are some of your most cherished memories of this nearly 25-year-old publication?