Reason #407 I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer: I recently bought a gold Pokémon Center 3DS LL

While everyone else in the world (yes, every single person in the world who isn't me) digs into Pokémon X and Y this weekend, I'll be impatiently waiting for my copy of this portable, catch-them-all-centric RPG to show up on my doorstep.

That's not because I decided to order my copy from a retailer with snail-slow shipping, by the way; instead, it's because, as is stated in the header above, I recently bought one of the gold Pokémon Center 3DS LLs that were just released in Japan and that come packed with a digital version of either Pokémon X or Y.



(Actually, I pre-ordered this system the same day I published this post, but I didn't mention it here until now because I was pretty sure I would cancel said pre-order long before it actually shipped.)

Is this one of the crazier things I've done in my gaming life? I think it may be. I guess that speaks to the power of this system's stunning, Disney-esque (in my opinion) design.

Speaking of designs, I can't say I'm thrilled with the boxes (see above and below) that contain these systems and their related accoutrements. I expected the packaging to be shimmery and gold, like the systems themselves. Oh, well, I guess the red and blue backdrops help draw attention to the golden systems hidden within.



Although I have no idea when my gold 3DS LL will arrive, you can rest assured that as soon as it does I'll snap tons of photos of the packaging and the system and everything else and then share them here.

In the meantime, let me know in the comments section below what you think of Pokémon X and/or Y, should you be able to pull yourselves away from its preciousness.

See also: 'All of a sudden, I want one of these suckers'

Reason #406 I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

Let's make this one really easy: Many a person could--and should--consider me an "eccentric" (aka bat-shit crazy) gamer because I'm seriously considering buying the 3DS game you see below.

How seriously? Well, not as seriously as you may think, but seriously enough for me to add it to my "save items list" over at play-asia.com, at the very least.



For those of you wondering what in the hell you're looking at: It's a soon-to-be-released Japanese 3DS game called Neratte! Tobashite! Rilakkuma Guragura Sweets Tower. (That's Aim! Hurl! Rilakkuma's Shaky Sweets Tower, for everyone who's like me and doesn't know a lick of Japanese.)

Oh, and it'll hit the streets in Japan on Dec. 13 carrying a price tag of ¥5,040 (about $63).

I'm sure at least a few of you are thinking, "That doesn't sound too crazy to me"--especially since I've hardly been shy about expressing my penchant for adorable games. Would you feel the same way, though, if you knew that Neratte! Tobashite! Rilakkuma Guragura Sweets Tower was little more than a cuter-than-it-has-any-right-to-be Angry Birds clone (a fact that is made painfully evident in the video below)?



That last bit is what's keeping me from considering Neratte! Tobashite! Rilakkuma Guragura Sweets Tower too seriously at the moment.

Should I find a copy of this pixelated confection selling for, say, $20 on eBay in the near or distant future, though, I can't promise I'll be able to keep myself from adding it to my collection.

See also: Other reasons I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

Reason #405 I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

A larger part of me than I'd like to admit wants to buy a complete-in-box copy of the Famicom version of Bubble Bobble 2.

I consider that to be crazy for a few reasons. One, I've never really liked Bubble Bobble 2 (released in North America as Bubble Bobble Part 2)--which I tend to consider inferior to Taito's original effort in every possible way. Two, complete-in-box copies of this game can be a bit "pricey"--as in, I could either buy Bubble Bobble 2 at some point next year or I could buy a 3DS XL (assuming prices for this rare title are trending low, that is).

I severely doubt I'll ever go through with this rather harebrained scheme, but you never know. I've done some completely bat-shit crazy things over the years because of cute box art, after all.

See also: Other reasons I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

Reason #404 I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

I recently bought a Game Gear game--the Japanese version of Tengen's Magical Puzzle Popils, to be exact--despite the fact that I don't yet own a Game Gear system.

There's a method (well, kind of) to my madness, though; you see, in part I bought a copy of this Fukio Mitsuji-designed game because I hoped it would push me to (finally) pick up Sega's first handheld. (Its second being the Nomad, of course.)

Another reason I bought the copy of Magical Puzzle Popils you see in the photo to the right: Its cover art. Duh! (For a bit more information on this precious puzzler, read these previously-published blog posts.)

Don't worry, I won't hold off on reviewing this titillating title until I actually acquire a Game Gear system. I've played it enough via emulation to know it inside and out, so there's no real reason for me to wait. Anyway, keep an eye out for it if you're so inclined.

In the meantime, have any of you ever bought a game or two for a system (console or handheld) that you don't yet own?

See also: Other reasons I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

Reason #403 I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

Thanks to the North American copy of Rhythm Heaven that I picked up on the cheap a few weeks ago, I now own three copies of this wonderfully wacky music game.

Why on earth did I decide to buy three copies of this DS title? Well, I didn't set out to own three copies of it, for starters. When it was first released in Japan--as Rhythm Tengoku Gold--three-and-a-half years ago, I doubted it would make its way to the West, so I picked up a copy via play-asia.com.

After the folks at Nintendo of America announced that it would, in fact, be brought stateside, I added it to my to-buy list ... and promptly forgot about it, especially after a I read a number of negative comments about its English vocals.



Later, I came across a cheap copy of the UK version--renamed, for some strange reason, Rhythm Paradise--and purchased that one instead. (In part because it was cheap, and in part because I wanted another Euro DS game. See this post for more on that.)

At that point, I pretty much gave up on adding the North American release to my collection. When I saw that a sealed copy of the game was being sold via Amazon for less than $5, though, I couldn't help but snatch it up.

See also: Other reasons I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

Reason #402 I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

I have a bit of a "thing" for European DS game cases.

Oh, get your minds out of the gutter. I don't mean that I, uh, do things with them; I mean that I have an odd attraction to them.

It all started when I bought a copy of Freshly-Pickled Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland from the UK. For some unknown reason, that game's clear, thicker-than-the-ones-we-get-in-North-America case (see it in this photo) appealed to me so much that I wanted a few more.

I got my wish a few months later when I picked up a copy of the Euro version of Professor Layton and the Curious Village. (Here's a photo of it, in case you're, er, curious.)



There was, it seems, no turning back after that, as I quickly added Euro copies of Professor Layton and Pandora's Box, Professor Layton and the Lost Future, Last Window (the sequel to Hotel Dusk: Room 215) and Jam with the Band to my collection of DS games. (Photos of the aforementioned games can be seen here, here, here and here, respectively.)

Sadly--for my bank account, especially--I'm not through purchasing such games. I plan on picking up a copy of the Euro release of Inazuma Eleven at some point this year, for instance, and I also hope to buy a copy of Professor Layton and the Spectre's Call (the fourth in the series--it was called Professor Layton and the Last Specter in the States).

After that, though, I probably put a cork in this particular obsession--or at least that's what I'm hoping to do.

See also: Other reasons I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

Reason #401 I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

Let's make this one simple, shall we? Thanks to my recent acquisition of the Famicom Disk System version of Ice Climber, I now own three copies of this Nintendo-made platformer.

Why on earth do I need three copies of one game? Well, I wouldn't say I need them, for starters. Also, all three copies aren't exactly the same.

That said, two copies of the game are pretty much the same. You see, the first copy I bought was a "loose" one--consisting of just the Japanese Famicom cart. The second copy, picked up in early November and detailed in this previously published post, on the other hand, is of the "complete in box" variety.

The third copy (seen at right), though, is of the Famicom Disk System version of the game. That makes it different from the others in format, of course, but did you know the disk version differs from the cart version in other ways, too?

For instance, the FDS iteration features an animated intro screen--seen at the start of this video--that shows Popo and Nana chipping the words "Ice Climber" out of a block of ice (or something like that). It also includes a stage-select screen, level layouts that differ from those found in the cartridge version, occasional weather effects (wind and snowstorms that impede your progress through a particular stage) and more. (More info on the differences between these versions can be found in the description of this YouTube video, by the way.)

Does all of the above make me any less bat-shit crazy for owning three copies of a game I used to despise? Probably not, but I don't care. Now please forgive me while I attempt to get past this version's fifth stage...

See also: Other reasons I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer and previous Ice Climber posts

Reason #400 I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

If I could find an FM Towns Marty system at a reasonable price--most of the ones I've seen on eBay go for around $899--I'd buy one quicker than you can say "are you nuts?"

Even nuttier: I'm only interested in buying three games alongside said system at this point--Bubble Bobble, The New Zealand Story and Rainbow Islands.

That's not where the nuttiness ends, though. The trio of games I just mentioned are, with a few exceptions, simple ports of the arcade originals. Also, I can already play all three of them on my PS2 thanks to the copy of Taito Legends that I picked up a few years ago.

Still, I can't help but want both an FM Towns Marty and the above-mentioned titles. Here's hoping I never find one cheap enough to make this nutty dream come true.

See also: Other reasons I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

Reason #399 I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

It's possible that at some point in the next year or two (OK, maybe three) I'll add a Neo Geo CD--the top-loader depicted in the photo below, specifically--to my ever-growing console collection.

I know, that admission in and of itself is enough to warrant another "here's why I'm an eccentric gamer" post, but in this case that's just the start of it. The rest of it: I really only want to be able to play two games--Puzzle Bobble and Twinkle Star Sprites--on this (possible) future acquisition.

Oh, I wouldn't be surprised if, at some point, I were to be tempted to pick up a few additional games for the system--like Super Baseball 2020 (seemingly strange choice for me, I know) and Blue's Journey/Raguy--but the two mentioned in the previous sentence would be the main reason behind this particular spending spree.

Anyway, of all the desires and dreams detailed in these "reasons I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer" posts, this one is, by far, the least likely to become a reality. Still, I think the fact that I'm even thinking of buying a Neo Geo CD is worth mentioning here.

See also: Other reasons I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

Reason #398 I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

I really want to buy a Sega Game Gear--despite the fact that I only want to buy one game along with it.

That game: Magical Puzzle Popils, which I'm pretty sure I've mentioned on more than one occasion. (Yep, here and here.) I know, I could easily continue playing this Fukio Mitsuji-developed title via emulation if I really wanted to, but I'd prefer to own the real deal if at all possible.

There are a few other Game Gear titles I'm at least mildly interested in, of course--like Fantasy Zone Gear, Madou Monogatari I, II and III, and Shining Force Gaiden--but I likely wouldn't even consider picking up the system if Magical Puzzle Popils weren't available.

To make things even worse, I'd love to buy one of the rare, white Game Gears--like the one seen in the photo above--that only saw the light of day in Japan. Thankfully, even I have my (spending) limits. So, black it will be--should I ever buy one, of course.

See also: Other reasons I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

Reason #397 I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

I desperately want a PC Engine CD-ROM2 peripheral.

If you don't know what that means, here's a photo of said system (connected to the original, white PC Engine console):





I know what some of you are thinking: That doesn't seem all that insane. Plenty of people probably want a PC Engine CD-ROM2 peripheral!

I'd love to agree with you, but I can't. Why? Because I already own a PC Engine Core Grafx II console and its piggybacking Super CD-ROM2 peripheral. (Here's a photo of both of them, and here's another.) As such, picking up the original CD-ROM2 attachment at this point seems at best a bit silly and at worst completely bonkers.

Still, I want it. As for whether or not I'll ever actually acquire one, well, that's another question entirely...

See also: Other reasons I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

Reason #396 I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

How's this for eccentric (or bat-shit crazy, if that's the terminology you prefer)? Not only am I a self-proclaimed "box-art whore"--as in, I buy, or at least I want to buy, certain games simply because of the art that graces their box covers--but I'm a box-art whore who often finds himself desiring games that he can't possibly play (because I don't own the systems that are needed to play them).

Here are a few recent examples:

Fantasy Zone II for the Mark III

Panorama Cotton for the Mega Drive

Rainbow Islands Extra for the FM Towns

Yume Meikyū Kigurumi Daibōken (aka Dream Maze) for the Super Famicom

I also really want to buy copies of Bubble Bobble for the FM Towns (cover art shown in this recent post) and Puzzle Bobble Mini for the Neo Geo Pocket (cover art shown in this post).

I can't be the only gamers who thinks this way, can I?

Reason #395 I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

I will, at some point in the not-so-distant future, pick up copies of two Famicom RPGs: Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. Why? Simply put: I'm completely in love with each game's box art. I mean, just look at the luscious illustration that graced the Japanese cover of Final Fantasy:



The box art produced for the original Dragon Quest, below, is equally drool-worthy, in my humble opinion.



Admittedly, I don't know a lick of Japanese, but I've played through both of these titles enough times--Final Fantasy especially--that I probably could beat them with my eyes closed, so doing so without being able to understand the text on the screen shouldn't be much of a problem.