I think I'm going to back another Kickstarter (for a musical puzzler called Bit Band)

You may remember the post of mine from mid-October in which I declared my interest in a Kickstarter that, if successful, would bring the curious Order Land! (for Steam, Switch and Xbox One) to the West in early 2018.

Sadly, developer and publisher Poisoft pulled the plug on the campaign on Nov. 1. It's vowed to try again after retooling its appeal, but who knows when that'll happen or if it'll succeed during its second go-round.

Why am I bringing that up here? Because it was the first Kickstarter I actually attempted to back. Which means that if I back the one highlighted here, for a musical puzzler called Bit Band, it would be my second such attempt.

What's so great about this crowd-funding effort that I'm willing to throw some of my hard-earned money at it? I'm mostly into Bit Band's aesthetic, to be perfectly frank. I know some are over the whole "chunky sprite" retro look, but it's done so well here that I can't help but be impressed by it.



Don't get me wrong, I'm also pretty keen on Bit Band's gameplay. The developers describe it as being like "Tetris meets Rock Band," and I'd say that's pretty apt based on the gameplay displayed in the trailer above.

The only thing giving me pause at this point is that I'm not thrilled the project page mentions a "goal for the Nintendo Switch console," but then never explains it further. That bothers me because I'm not interested in backing the campaign, only to receive a Steam key in return.

Gavin Reed, who's handling Bit Band's art, animation, music, and game design, told me on Twitter the other day that a Switch version is this Kickstarter's first stretch goal. That makes me feel a bit better, but not entirely.

Anyway, despite my misgivings, I'll probably toss some money at this campaign before it ends on Dec. 8. If you'd like to do the same, or if you'd simply like to learn more about Bit Band, visit kickstarter.com.

The Gay Gamer x Retronauts Micro x GameBoy THE SEQUEL

Two months ago, I appeared on the 41st Retronauts Micro podcast. USgamer's Jeremy Parish and I chatted about the 1989 launch of Nintendo's GameBoy.

Specifically, we talked about the handheld's first batch of games: Alleyway, Baseball, Super Mario Land and Yakuman.

This time around, we discuss the GameBoy's next two titles (in Japan, at least): Tennis and Tetris.

I was especially happy to be able to share my thoughts on the latter. I've been a fan of the sport of tennis since I was a youngster, and I've long had a soft spot for Nintendo's (initial) portable take on it.

That's not to say I don't also have a soft spot for Tetris. Who doesn't love this game--and this version of it, in particular?

Anyway, if you like the GameBoy (or you're at least curious about it), you're OK with listening to two guys talk about a couple of its titles and you have just over 30 minutes of free time, head on over to retronauts.com and check out Retronauts Micro #41.

Wait, a Tetris-like Katamari Damacy puzzler hit Nintendo's DSiWare service back in 2009?

In the comments section of my recent post about "book-style" DS games, two fine folks pointed me in the direction of a Giant Bomb write-up that detailed a good number of such releases.

One of the many games highlighted in that post was Korogashi Puzzle Katamari Damacy (or ころがしパズル塊魂).

Unbeknownst to me, the folks at Bandai Namco dropped Korogashi Puzzle Katamari Damacy onto the Japanese DSiWare shop (or whatever the hell it was called) all the way back in 2009.



Given my love of book-style DS games, Katamari Damacy and puzzlers, I nearly fainted when I first became aware of Korogashi Puzzle Katamari Damacy's existence.

Sadly, unless I'm horribly mistaken (someone please tell me if this is the case), Korogashi Puzzle Katamari Damacy never made the leap from the DSiWare shop to the 3DS eShop.

Oh, well, maybe this is just the universe's way of telling me I need to pick up a Japanese DSi pronto?

My favorite GameBoy photos (so far)

While prepping yesterday's post about the GameBoy's 25th anniversary, I spent some time wading through all of the photos I've taken of my GameBoy "acquisitions" over the last few years.

Although I think the shots I've snapped of, say, my DS, Game Gear and even WonderSwan games are more appealing (in general) than the ones I've snapped of my GameBoy titles, I like enough of the latter to share a smattering of them here--you know, so we can keep the GameBoy anniversary train rolling for at least a few more hours.

Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry's Wonderland

Kitchen Panic

Japanese Tetris box, cartridge and manual

Wario Land II + GameBoy Pocket

Balloon Kid cartridge and case

BurgerTime Deluxe's Japanese packaging

Top flap of Painter Momopie's box

Pokémon Red

If you'd like to see a couple (OK, a lot) more photos of GameBoy and other handheld carts and systems, head over to this Flickr album of mine at your earliest convenience.

I know next to nothing about Puyo Puyo Tetris, yet I'm planning to pre-order the 3DS version as soon as someone allows me to do so

Before I go into what Puyo Puyo Tetris is (or what little I know of it, at least) and why I want it so badly, let me say that the next six months are going to be terrible both for my wallet and my marriage.

That's because I'm planning to pick up a ton of 3DS games, both North American and Japanese, within that time frame, such as Bravely Default, Daigasso! Band Bros. P, Game Center CX 3, Hometown Story, Pokemon X/Y and Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call--and that doesn't even include possibles/probables like Mario & Luigi: Dream Team and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.



As of yesterday, Puyo Puyo Tetris has been added to that lengthy list despite the fact that I don't know much about it yet. What I do know about it sounds pretty interesting, though--such as that its "Classic" mode allows gamers to choose either Puyo Puyo or Tetris, while its "Swap" mode forces them to switch between the two every few seconds (or is it minutes?).

Take the info above with a grain of salt, by the way. All that's known about the title so far comes from folks on various sites (NeoGAF, among them) who have taken a stab at translating the Japanese text included in these Famitsu magazine scans and found on famitsu.com.



Of course, how much do we really need to know about a game like this? It's Puyo Puyo and Tetris--it's going to be awesome regardless of how the folks at Sega toss them together. So, consider me on board--even though I'm not a big fan of the its generically adorable art style. (I much prefer the art style employed in the series' earliest offerings.)

Are any of you also pining for a little Puyo Puyo Tetris action in your lives? If so, which version would you most like to play--the one planned for the 3DS, the PS3 (shown above), the Vita or the Wii U?

12 import games I bought in 2012 but didn't tell you about until now: Tetris (GameBoy)

Of all the games that will be featured in this series of posts, this is likely to be the most boring--or maybe I should say least interesting?



So, why did I decide to include it? Because I rather like its bold, red-and-blue box art, that's why.



Speaking of which, the box art you see in the photos above is chiefly responsible for me picking up the Japanese, rather than the North American, version of "GameBoy Tetris" earlier this year.



Another reason, of course, is that I couldn't find the copy that came with the original GameBoy I dug out of my childhood closet shortly after I rang in 2012--and, really, you can't have an OG GameBoy without also having a copy of Tetris, can you?

See also: Previous '12 import games I bought in 2012 but didn't tell you about until now' posts

Custom Miyamoto 3DS case

Although I need to spend more money on gaming-related goods about as much as I need another hole in my head, I can't help but crave the custom, Miyamoto-branded 3DS case below.

It was created by the proprietor of the KickassCases etsy shop, by the way, and it can be purchased (here) for just $20.



Looking for a custom 3DS case, but not interested in one that features the grinning visage of Shigeru Miyamoto? You still may want to check out the KickassCases shop--especially if you're a Mario, Yoshi or Zelda fan.

I'm pretty fond of this Kirby one and this Tetris one myself.

Five favorites: portable puzzlers

Why is that portable systems and puzzle games go together like peanut butter and jelly? Regardless of the reason, that's how it's been--for me, at least--since 1989, when the one-two punch of the GameBoy and Tetris were unleashed upon the world.

Despite the number of portable puzzlers that have flooded the market since then, I had a relatively hard time coming up with the following list. That's not to suggest any of the games below aren't really "favorites" of mine; rather, it's to suggest that, surprisingly, I just couldn't think of many others that could take their place. (Two that did come to mind but didn't quite make the cut: Orbital for the GameBoy Advance and the Professor Layton series for the DS and 3DS.)

So, which portable puzzlers impressed me enough to not only be remembered but be included in this post? I thought you'd never ask. Read on to find out.

1. ChuChu Rocket! (Sega, 2001)--Would I rather play the graphically superior Dreamcast version of this Sonic Team-developed game than this GameBoy Advance version, if given a choice? Probably, but this pixelated port is nothing to sneeze at. Both versions feature basically the same gameplay, after all, and both feature a slew of options. As such, I highly suggest every puzzler fan out there do what I've done: Get 'em both.

2. Guru Logi Champ (Compile, 2001)--If you like Picross, you'll probably like this import-only oddity, produced by the folks at Compile (makers of the Puyo Puyo games). And if you don't like Picross? You'll still probably like it, thanks to its wacky graphics, music and, most importantly, sense of humor. Unfortunately, this GameBoy Advance title isn't all that easy to come by these days, so your best bet is to download a ROM and play it via emulation. My advice: Give your morals a rest and do just that.

I'd rather watch this than Prince of Persia

Of course, that's not really saying much.



"A brother dies. A challenge arises. A friendship is forged. And so it begins."

You know, I think it's entirely possible that Tetris: The Movie features better writing than the aforementioned Jake Gyllenhaal star vehicle.

See also: '8-bit invasion'

8-bit invasion

What would happen if the creatures from our favorite 8-bit video games came to life and invaded New York City? That's the question artist Patrick Jean (and his colleagues at the French visual effects studio, OneMoreProd) attempted to answer in the following short film, Pixels:



In related news: The word on the street is that Adam Sandler's production company, Happy Madison Productions, has partnered with Jean to develop a feature film based on Pixels.

'Tetris Tetris Everywhere'

While randomly perusing Flickr earlier this evening, I came across an amusing gallery called "Tetris Tetris Everywhere."

Of the gallery's 18 photos, this one is my favorite:

I especially like its title, "Rest in Tetris."

To see the rest of the gallery's photos, go here.

See also: 'It's show and tell time!'

Billy Herrington Tetris

I came across the following video while (somewhat) randomly surfing the web the other day:



Bill Herrington (the Speedo-clad bodybuilder in the clip above) is a gay porn star, by the way. Although he hasn't appeared in an adult movie since 2003, he's become something of a celebrity in Japan in the last few years thanks to the slew of mash-up videos (aka MAD movies) that have been posted on Nico Nico Douga, a Japanese video-sharing site.

Many of them, like the one above, are inspired by video games. This (rather NSFW-ish) one, for instance, is based on Final Fantasy VII.

If you're at all interested in learning more about this peculiar Internet meme, check out these posts on knowyourmeme.com.

(Via puddingparadise.blogspot.com)