Ready Player Two

The following game-inspired illustration was produced by artist Glen Brogan of the Albino Raven blog for his just-closed Gallery1988 show.

The focus of this stylish piece isn't a tanooki-suited Mario, by the way; it's a fox-suited Luigi--or whatever the hell it is Mario's main bro turns into when he grabs a Super Leaf power-ip in Super Mario 3D Land.

Why did Brogan devote an entire canvas to the most famous "player two" in all of gaming? Here's what he had to say in a recent blog post:

"As a kid I often found myself playing video games as player two, usually either because the other kid was older or because I was (and am) pretty shy and non-assertive. Because of that I still to this day have a fondness for Luigi, the ultimate second player character."

For those who may be interested: Brogan's selling 8-by-10-inch digital prints of this piece via Gallery1988's website for $35 each. (Mounted versions of the print can be picked up here for $55.)

Any game with pixelated cobs of corn in it sounds pretty good to me

I've never before played Ponpoko, an ancient arcade platformer produced by a company called Sigma Entertainment, but after reading about it over at redparsley.blogspot.com a few days ago, I plan on rectifying the situation as soon as possible.

That's not only because this 1982 release features, as suggested in the headline above, pixelated cobs of corn, mind you. No, it's also because it stars an adorably big-bellied (at least I think that's its belly...) tanuki. I also like that it has mice that look kind of like scorpions and can fly through the air as easily as they can skitter across the ground.

Now that I've piqued your interest in this maniacal quarter-muncher, I'm guessing you'd like to see how it looks in action? If so, here you go:



Awesome, eh? OK, so "awesome" may be too strong a word, but it's certainly pretty cute, don't you think? Granted, I'm a complete sucker for games that are filled with fruits and veggies, so maybe I'm the wrong person to ask such a question.

Anyway, I plan on giving this one a go fairly soon--despite my oft-reported disdain for playing games on a PC.

Mario + Matryoshka = Marioshka!

What do you get when you toss Mario (Tanooki Mario, to be more specific) and a trio of Russian matryoshka dolls into a blender and make a t-shirt design out of the resulting sludge?

If you're Mat Hudson (aka Orphan Elliott), you get the following:

Tees bearing Hudson's design will be sold via Threadless should the design garner enough positive votes within the next two days. (Go here if you'd like to add to the tally.)

(Via gonintendo.com)

'Save the Seven Kingdoms' t-shirt

I think it's safe to say that if you grew up in the 1980s and you played video games, you're a fan of Super Mario Bros. 3.

Well, unless you were one of those unfortunate kids whose parents bought them a Sega Master System instead of an NES.

Even those sad sacks (I kid!) are likely to feel a twinge of excitement and even nostalgia upon seeing the following t-shirt, which is being sold for $18.95 via bitmapd.com.



Personally, I'm not sure which aspect of this shirt I like best: The cherry-red fabric, the Tanooki-teasing logo or the rallying cry contained within said Tanooki's tail.

(Via superpunch.blogspot.com)

I've always been a sucker for men who wear Tanooki suits

Especially when they're as cute as the guys in deviantartist beyx's "Mario Suits" illustration (below).

You say you've got a thing for guys in raccoon suits? Check out this illustration, also produced by beyx. (See more of her stuff in her deviantart gallery.)

So, where's the Kuribo's Shoe plushie?

Deviantartist Michele Legendre (aka misscoffee) recently posted to her gallery a number of her handmade, game-inspired plushies. My favorite: The artist's absolutely adorable Tanooki Mario figure.

Misscoffee's Frog Suit Mario plushie is pretty fabulous, too, but I had to dock it a few points due to the fact that I've always hated the frog suit. (My least favorite of Mario's many power-ups? Possibly.)

BTW, if you're an Ice Climber fan, you have to check out (here) misscoffee's plushified versions of Popo and Nana.

(Via tomopop.com, by way of 4colorrebellion.com)