The best 3DS eShop games you've never played (or, 10 overlooked 3DS eShop games you need to try as soon as possible)

Now that the Nintendo Switch is out and the company's previous portable game system is slowly heading to the grave, I thought I'd finally publish a post about the 3DS eShop titles I think have been most depressingly overlooked during that handheld's lifetime.

Attack of the Friday Monsters!--Originally intended for Level-5's aborted second Guild series compilation, this game eventually saw the light of day as an individual eShop release. That's a big deal because it means you can access it for just a few bucks ($7.99, to be exact) rather than $30 or $40. And believe me, $8 for this little slice of faux nostalgia is a real bargain. I say "faux nostalgia" because, well, I doubt many Western gamers who play Attack of the Friday Monsters! will have experienced 1970s Japan--this game's probable setting. The gameplay embedded within that setting, by the way, is divided between exploration and card battles. Although the latter aspect is enjoyable enough, the former--which involves running around the fictitious town of Fuji no Hana and chatting with its many inhabitants--is the highlight here.

Crimson Shroud--Oh, hey, another 3DS eShop game that began life on one of Level-5's Guild series compilations. This one, however, is Yasumi Matsuno's take on a digital tabletop RPG. (Matsuno is best known for acting as the director of Tactics Ogre, Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII.) Don't worry, you needn't be a fan of tabletop or pen-and-paper role-playing games (like Dungeons & Dragons) to enjoy Crimson Shroud, which first hit 3DS eShops around the globe in late 2012. An interest in the RPG genre in general wouldn't be a bad idea, though, especially since Crimson Shroud will set you back around $8 for what'll likely end up being a five- to 10-hour playthrough (longer if you decide to tackle the "new game plus" that unlocks after beating its main campaign).

The 'DENPA' Men 3--Before I say anything else about this eShop title, let me say this: I actually like the first 'DENPA' Men game more than the pair of sequels that followed in its wake. (Here's my review of The 'DENPA' Men.) I have a feeling most people will prefer the second and, especially, third 'DENPA' Men games to the original, though, which is why I'm recommending the most recent one here. For the uninitiated, The 'DENPA' Men 3, like its predecessors, is a unique turn-based RPG that has players use their 3DS systems' AR functionality to find and capture the titular characters from the world around them. Once you've nabbed enough to form a party (up to eight, eventually), you wander an overworld, explore dungeons and battle enemies just as you would in pretty much every other RPG in existence. The difference in The 'DENPA' Men 3 (as well as in the earlier 'DENPA' games): the bulk of its battles involve your colorful band of big-headed party members running toward and slamming their noggins into opposing baddies. OK, so most of them can hurl magic spells at foes, too, but head-butting is the big differentiator here. Still skeptical? All three of the DENPA' Men titles can be taken for a spin via free-to-download demos. Should you like that experience, I'd strongly recommend handing over $9.99 to buy either the first or third of the series' releases.

Gotta Protectors--To be completely honest, I haven't put as much time into this portable sequel to Ancient Corp's stellar Protect Me Knight: Mamotte Kishi (for Xbox 360) as I'd like. I say that because the hour or two I've spent with Gotta Protectors (known as Minna de Mamotte Knight in Japan) were thrilling. Of course, I've long liked these real-time tower-defense games, so keep that in mind as I slobber all over this particular one. As for what's so great about Gotta Protectors, the fast-paced, responsive, princess-protecting action that serves as its backbone is the first reason I'll toss at you. Also, both its 8-bit-ish graphics and soundtrack are right out of my teenage dreams (that's a good thing). The only negative associated with this digital title, in my opinion, is that it's $12.99 price tag is a bit steep if you're not a fan of the genre or if you're not entirely sure this example will be your cup of tea.

HarmoKnight--I've got to be honest here: I wanted to like this Game Freak product more than I did. And, really, who could blame me for getting pumped up about a digital title that's equal parts platformer and rhythm game and that was made by the company behind the world-conquering Pokémon series? As for what keeps HarmoKnight from being as perfect as I imagined it'd be, the main criticism I'll offer up is that it often feels "cheap"--with enemies and obstacles flying at you from all directions, often without warning. So why am I recommending it here? Because it's not a total clunker. It art style is captivating, and its soundtrack is, by and large, scintillating.  Plus, there aren't many games out there that combine these two genres, so I can't help but feel like the few in existence need to be supported--even those that are less-than-perfect.

At long last, my review of THE 'DENPA' MEN 3

Unfortunately, you can't read it here. Instead, you have to head over to gamecritics.com.

Don't worry, this doesn't mean all of my reviews are going to appear on GameCritics rather than here from now on. I wrote this particular review for a site that isn't my own because Senior Editor Brad Gallaway, who has been a Twitter friend of mine for ages now, asked me to write it.

OK, so he also asked me to write a review of Fantasy Life, so at least one more of my reviews will be published there rather than here, but that's likely to be the extent of it. I think.

Anyway, if you're at all curious as to how I felt about THE "DENPA" MEN 3 after spending more than 40 hours with it, check out gamecritics.com at your convenience.

Oh, and please share your feelings on this 3DS RPG in the comments section below--should you be one of the five or six people outside of Japan who've actually played it, I mean.

See also: my 'somewhat gay' review of the first 'DENPA' MEN game

Here's how I spent my 2014 (3DS edition)

In case any of you are wondering: no, I won't be publishing other editions of this "series," as none of the other systems I used in 2014 were capable of recording how many hours I spent playing games on them.

At any rate, here's how much time I spent playing various 3DS games in 2014 (as per the "Activity Log" files on my Japanese and North American systems):

• Tomodachi Life ... 127:43
• Bravely Default ... 99:45
• Fantasy Life ... 88:08
• Etrian Odyssey IV ... 59:20
• Solitiba ... 57:30
• THE "DENPA" MEN 3 ... 42:19
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds ... 20:30
• Yoshi's New Island ... 12:31
• Super Mario 3D Land ... 12:10
• Rusty's Real Deal Baseball ... 6:30

The only "results" that surprised me were Etrian Odyssey IV and Rusty's Real Deal Baseball, as I had no idea I spent so much time with either title. Also, I'm kind of shocked I've yet to put more than six hours and 30 minutes into Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest 3. I guess that means I have to devote a bit more time to it in the coming days and weeks.

One last tidbit some of you may find interesting: apparently I spent just over 580 hours playing 62 "titles" (which includes the eShop, Activity Log and other apps, by the way) on my pair of 3DS systems in 2014.

Now that I've shared how I spent my 2014 (in regard to 3DS gaming, at least), please feel free to share how you spent yours in the comments section of this post.

My favorite games of 2014 (that actually were released in 2014)

If we're going to be honest here (and why wouldn't we be?), I'm far from the ideal person to write a post such as this.

Unlike a lot of folks, I'm not all that interested in the "next gen" consoles (as opposed to handhelds) that tend to dominate online gaming discussions these days, plus I spend at least half of my annual games budget on retro titles and systems.

Still, I've played through good number of games this year, so I'm publishing a pair of posts that focus on the handful I've enjoyed the most. Today's post covers titles that actually were released in 2014, while tomorrow's will cover those that were released earlier.

One thing to keep in mind as you review this particular write-up: I played zero Vita games this year--because I still don't own a Vita system, although I can guarantee that will change shortly--and I failed to play a number of highly acclaimed 3DS games that hit the streets in in the last 12 months, including Kirby: Triple Deluxe, Persona Q, Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and Shovel Knight (although all of these take up space on my lengthy "wish list").

With that out of the way, let's get to some blurbs about my favorite games of 2014 (that actually were released in 2014):

Bravely Default--This Square Enix-made stunner, released early in the year in my neck of the woods, ably straddles the line between being an old-school RPG and a next-gen one. On the old-school side of things, there are the random, turn-based battles and the chibi character designs that harken back to the 8-bit and 16-bit Final Fantasy titles (as well as The 4 Heroes of Light spin-off, of course), while on the next-gen side there are the bevy of combat options (one of which allows players to avoid enemy encounters or otherwise alter how often they pop up), the online and multiplayer components and the surprisingly well implemented use of augmented reality. If you've read anything about Bravely Default, you're likely already aware of the fact that the second half of the game's story is a bit controversial (to put it mildly), and while it unquestionably deserves the criticism, I have to say that, for me, most of the related annoyance was forgotten following the final battle, the credit roll and what came after that--to the point that I'm pretty sure I'll willingly put myself through it all again (maybe more than once) in the not-so-distant future.

Fantasy Life--I don't know about you, but I've long been one of those gamers who want to wander off the beaten path in an RPG while in the shoes of something other than a sword-wielding warrior. Specifically, I've wanted to boot up a role-playing game that let me spend time as a shop owner or a weapon maker or even an inn keeper. Fantasy Life promises some of that and more--to an extent. On offer in this 3DS title are 12 different "lives" (jobs, basically) that allow players to act as miners, woodcutters, blacksmiths and cooks. As I'm sure you can imagine, some of these professions are more engaging than others. For me, angler, miner and woodcutter have proven to be the most fun so far, although I've also enjoyed the time I've spent as a blacksmith and carpenter--despite the fact that the latter pair's focus on repetitive and too-similar mini-games is sure to get on the nerves of some gamers. That's one area I hope is improved upon should a sequel ever see the light of day. Other than that, there isn't much wrong with the current iteration, as its art style is the stuff of childhood dreams, its gameplay is more entertaining than it has any right to be and its soundtrack ties all of the above together before topping it with a pretty bow.

Tomodachi Life--Following its Japanese release in 2013, the word on the Internet was that Tomodachi Life was a shockingly alluring mixture of Animal Crossing and The Sims. Although those folks were right on the money in attaching Electronic Arts' life-sim series to this similarly themed 3DS release, they were pretty far off the mark in adding Nintendo's animal-packed fave. That's because Tomodachi Life is all about populating an island-locked apartment building with family members, friends, celebrities and more and then watching them get into all sorts of wacky situations. The experience is more interactive than that description makes it sound, thankfully, but it has to be said that interactivity isn't the name of the game (pun intended) here. No, the point of Tomodachi Life is to revel in the hilarity of it all--and mark my words, it's often pretty darn hilarious (or at least that was my impression during the 100-plus hours I spent with it this past year).

Woah Dave!--It's pretty telling that this 3DS eShop game (iOS, Mac and PC versions also are available, and PS4 and Vita versions are on the way) has been available for just a couple of months and yet it still managed to make this list. Given my nearly lifelong love of simple, pick-up-and-play titles like Bubble Bobble, Donkey Kong and Ms. Pac-Man, though, I guess its inclusion here shouldn't be too shocking. Speaking of the afore-menitoned games, the developers responsible for Woah Dave! looked past them and toward Nintendo's original Mario Bros. for inspiration instead, which was a pretty genius move, in my humble opinion. After all, that sewer-centric platformer has been begging for some sort of modernist update for ages now. My only issue with this otherwise-enthralling affair: the titular Dave and his abstract adversaries are nowhere near as appealing as Mario, Luigi and their quarter-munching co-stars. Thankfully, you probably won't even notice, as if you're anything like me you'll be too busy scurrying about in an attempt to stay alive and nab as many coins as you can while you're at it to notice the humdrum character designs.

Honorable mentions: Coming Out on Top (PC/Mac), THE "DENPA" MEN 3 (3DS), Tappingo 2 (3DS) and Yoshi's New Island (3DS)

Shall We Do It? (THE 'DENPA' MEN 3 and three versions of Rainbow Islands)

Those of you who've read the last few "Shall We Do It?" posts I've published may be wondering why I didn't include Tomodachi Life in this installment's header. That would be because I recently--as in, this past weekend--stopped playing it. I wouldn't go so far as to predict that I won't pick it up again, but I have to imagine I'll no longer check in on my island's inhabitants every single day as I previously was compelled to do.

I'm pretty much done with another 3DS game that's received a lot of play on this blog over the last few months, too--with the game in question being THE "DENPA" MEN 3. That's not because the bloom is off the rose, so to speak, or because this digital RPG has otherwise lost its appeal, mind you. No, it's because I finished this game within the last week or so.

By the way, it may interest some of you to hear that, in the end, I put more than 40 hours into this sucker. That's quite an accomplishment when you consider I nearly gave up after getting stuck around the seven-hour mark. It only got better and better after that unfortunate hurdle, thankfully, and now that the adventure is over I've got to say it was well worth the time and effort I put into it.

Does that mean I'd heartily recommend THE "DENPA" MEN 3 to all who own a 3DS? No, it doesn't. On the contrary, I have a feeling some of its quirks would turn off a lot of those who wander into it without ample warning. If you like RPGs with turn-based battles, though, and if you're not an easily annoyed gamer, it's possible you'll get as much enjoyment out of this title as I have so far.

As for what I've been playing now that both THE "DENPA" MEN 3 and Tomodachi Life have been put to bed, well, the header above kind of gives it away, doesn't it? Of course, the header doesn't mention which versions I've been playing, so at least there's a bit of new information I can share here.

In that regard, the Rainbow Islands ports I've been playing the last few days are the Famicom, GameBoy Color and PC Engine ones. The latter iteration is the one that's been getting most of my attention, thanks in large part to the fact that it's pretty much arcade-perfect, but the Famicom conversion has gotten a good amount of play, too.

Going back to the PC Engine version of this Taito classic, whose subtitle is "The Story of Bubble Bobble 2," I actually reached its end--the real, "good" one, too, not the "bad" one that's encountered if you failed to collect all of the game's "big diamonds"--for the first time ever a couple of days ago. The last few stages alone--one of which is an homage to The Fairyland Story, while two others pull enemies and other aspects from Darius and Bubble Bobble--were worth the price of admission, if you ask me, as were the song and animation sequence that accompanied the game's credit roll.

I can't say I've been as enamored with the Famicom and GameBoy Color ports of Rainbow Islands at this point, but I'm still enjoying them more than you might think given their various deficiencies. The GBC version, for instance, feels a bit "off" in terms of its controls (jumping, especially) compared to every other iteration I've experienced, but it looks so good--better than its Famicom or Sega Master System counterparts, that's for sure--that for the moment I'm willing to ignore that niggle.

The Famicom release, on the other hand, controls well enough--although not perfectly--but is a bit of a letdown in the graphics department. Actually, that's not an entirely fair assessment, as individual sprites--Bob, Bub and their enemies, especially--look pretty darn nice, all things considered. There are so many fewer colors used here than in the arcade original, though, that the overall impression is a disappointing one.

Honestly, I could fill this post with comments on and impressions of Rainbow Islands for the Famicom, but I don't want to do that, as it's already plenty long. Instead, why don't I round them up and share them in a "Second Chances" write-up that I can publish in a few days?

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

One last batch of QR codes for the two of you who are still playing THE 'DENPA' MEN 3

I'm not entirely sure why I wasted my time writing and publishing this post, to be honest. As far as I can tell, very few North Americans picked up this 3DS RPG, and it's likely only a small handful of those folks are still playing it today, three months after first hit the eShop.

I guess I did it because I figure a couple of those THE "DENPA" MEN 3 players might appreciate a little help--in the form of the following QR codes--as they continue to make their way through this oddly endearing (and often frustrating, it has to be said) little game.

All of these "Denpa" men (and women, I think) were caught while driving around Seattle in the last week or so (don't worry, my husband was driving--I was just a passenger), by the way. Not that you really needed to know that, I guess, but I'm letting you know anyway.

Jasiah + "Diamond Dust"

Serena + "Big Bang"

Nikolai + "Great Haste"

Ariella + "Rising Flames"

Jonas + "Laser Beam"

Sullivan + "Rare Treasure x2"

Delaney + "Hurricane"

Travis + "Abyss"

In case any of you are wondering which ones are my favorites: those would be Ariella and her "rising flames" attack, Jasiah and his "diamond dust" spell and the bandage-nosed Jonas and his "laser beam," although I also really like Delaney and Sullivan and Travis. (OK, so I like all of them.)

See also: previous posts about THE 'DENPA' MEN 3

Shall We Do It? (THE 'DENPA' MEN 3, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and Tomodachi Life)

I don't know which fact is weirder: that it's been more than a month since I published one of these "Shall We Do It?" write-ups or that the last one also included impressions of two of the same 3DS games I'll be chatting about in today's post.

I guess the two facts kind of go hand in hand, though, don't they? After all, THE "DENPA" MEN 3 and, especially, Tomodachi Life have conspired to take up most of my gaming bandwidth, so to speak, over the last few weeks--the exception being the handful of PC Engine platformers I've played in honor of apricotsushi's #PlatforMonth extravaganza--and that, in turn, has prompted me to drag my feet a bit when it comes to prepping these posts.

So, why did I decide to publish one today? Basically, I finally feel as though I've made enough progress in both of the aforementioned games to talk about them again. I'm not sure the same can be said of my experience with Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, sadly, but let's hold off on talking about that until after I've said what I have to say about Tomodachi Life and THE "DENPA" MEN 3.

THE "DENPA" MEN 3--Truth be told, I thought I was through with this digital RPG around the seven-hour mark. That's not to suggest I was anywhere near its end credits at that point, mind you; rather, I'd gotten stuck in a particular spot and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't find my way out of it. Until, of course, I did--which isn't easy when it comes to a game that's as overlooked as this one seems to be outside of Japan. (As in, it can be really difficult to get yourself out of a bind due to the dearth of English information about it on the Internet.)

Anyway, ever since I blew through that hour-seven bottleneck, THE "DENPA" MEN 3 and I have been on a roll. I just crossed the 24-hour mark last night, and I believe I've at least passed the halfway point of my playthrough by now. I still have some issues with this quirky RPG--the main ones being its boring NPCs and its sometimes-nightmarish difficulty spikes--but they're far enough in the background at this point that they're only rarely (OK, occasionally) interfering with my enjoyment of this not-so-pint-sized adventure.

Tomodachi Life--To those of you who are impressed that I've spent over 24 hours with THE "DENPA" MEN 3 thus far: just wait until you hear how much time I've put into Tomodachi Life. Would you believe my total playtime's now over 100 hours? I sure can't. Well, that's not entirely true, as I've found this weird life sim to be pretty darn fun since my first few minutes with it.

I wish I could update you as to how many Miis now populate my Rainbow Island, but I lost count some time ago. I think there are about 60 or 70 now? I can tell you how many married couples I have, though: 16. Three of them are gay, by the way. (Me and Ganondorf, Shigeru Miyamoto and David Bowie, Madonna and Daisy.) Oh, and I think all of them have had kids so far--or at least the huge majority of them have. Most of them have had more than one kid. Case in point: Ganondorf and I are on our third, with no end in sight to our child-rearing shenanigans.

How many more hours will I put into this title? I have no idea. I definitely can feel my interest waning a bit, though, so if I were forced to guess I'd say it's got about 20 hours of life left in it.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate--So, here we are: my first real impressions on Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, a game that I've owned for ages now but have only just gotten around to sticking into my 3DS. The quick-and-dirty version of my thoughts so far would be that I absolutely love it, although I've barely scratched its beautiful surface.

There's no real reason I've only put a few, measly hours into MH3U while I've put loads and loads into Tomodachi Life and THE "DENPA" MEN 3--other than the latter two have just secured a bit more of my attention as of late, I mean. That said, I'll certainly be returning to it with a passion as soon as I've stopped playing either or both of the aforementioned titles, as I found its first couple of hours to be surprisingly engaging given the assumptions I formed about it before I ever booted it up.

One of those assumptions, it should be stated, was that there would be little to Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate other than its famed and ferocious battles, while another was that said fights would be awkward to control (a la the old Resident Evil games). Neither of them have proven to be true, thankfully, so I'll consider this a lesson learned as far as forming assumptions about games I've yet to play are concerned.

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

Shall We Do It? (THE 'DENPA' MEN 3, Pokémon Battle Trozei and Tomodachi Life)

A little warning for those of you who clicked on this link in order to learn more about my on-and-off experiences with THE "DENPA" MEN 3 or Pokémon Battle Trozei: I barely played either 3DS eShop title in the week since I published my last "Shall We Do It?" post.

So, the impressions I share in regard to those two titles are sure to be on the short side. The impressions I share in regard to Tomodachi Life, on the other hand, will be far more extensive. Given that, maybe I should start with my thoughts on THE "DENPA" MEN 3 or Pokémon Battle Trozei?

THE "DENPA" MEN 3--The sad fact about my playthrough of this digital title is that it probably passed the six hour mark a month or two ago (if the game's even been out that long), and all I've put in since is maybe an hour and a half at most.

Why? Because I'm quite literally lost at the moment--which, in the end, may say more about my own intellect than it does about this game's difficulty, but right now it sure doesn't feel that way. And, really, my being lost has very little, if anything, to do with the game being tough; rather, it has to do with the overworld often being surprisingly obtuse. Which is weird, because I've played a lot of RPGs over the years and I generally find traversing an overworld to be a confusion-free affair.

That definitely was the case during my first five or six hours with THE "DENPA" MEN 3, but not any more. I literally don't know where I'm supposed to go at the moment--even though the game has gone to some lengths to point out the location (a volcano)--and so for the last hour-plus of my playthrough I've just been running here, there and everywhere searching for the damn "crust rupture" while doing my best to avoid as many battles as possible (something that's far easier said than done in this game, let me tell you).

Sadly, all this particular experience has done is remind me of my ill-fated attempt at playing through THE "DENPA" MEN 2 last year. After putting about 17 hours into that game, I basically walked away from it without a second thought due to being tired of having to fight a bunch of enemies every few steps.

So, I'm not sure where this leaves me and THE "DENPA" MEN 3, to be honest. I think what I'll do is see if someone else has addressed my issue on line. (No one had done so last I looked, but that was a couple of weeks ago.) If someone has, I'll soldier on a while longer, but even then I certainly wouldn't put any money on me finishing this one, folks--a crying shame when you consider how much I loved the original game.

Pokémon Battle Trozei--Here's another 3DS eShop title that I initially found pretty darn appealing but have all but ignored for the last few weeks.

In the case of Pokémon Battle Trozei, I think that's mainly because I simply don't find its tile-matching gameplay to be all that strategic--or at least not strategic in the ways I'm used to when it comes to such puzzlers.

In fact, I often get the feeling there's no strategy to it at all, as a lot of levels seem to begin with me shifting around tiles in a capable-enough manner (that's a good thing) before ending with little to no input from me. And even when my actions do seem to bring about the end of a level, I just don't feel all that engaged or interested in the action.

Am I just not "getting" this game? Am I doing something wrong? If so, please tell me, because I honestly want to like the otherwise-adorable Pokémon Battle Trozei--but at the moment I can't.

Tomodachi Life--Let's get the silly stuff out of the way for this one, shall we?

First, you should know that I now have about 30 residents on my island--including a slew of Nintendo characters and employees, a handful of social-media friends (Adam, Adrian, apricotsushi, Bri Bri, Kaze and Zaphod65 among them) and a bunch of celebrities (such as Cher, Madonna and Michael Jackson).

Also, my lookalike Mii finally has a sweetheart: Ganondorf, who's looking mighty spiffy with his hot-pink hair and light-pink polo these days, I have to say. The big lug has yet to propose, though, which is starting to make both me and my digital doppelganger mad--especially since Nintendo's Bill Trinen just married Nikki (of Swapnote fame) after dating for about a minute.

Other than that, my favorite aspect of this weirdo life sim is Tomodachi Quest, the mini-RPG that can be played each and every afternoon if you visit the amusement park. So far, I've waged battle against bottles of perfume, glass slippers, truffles (the pricey mushroom, not the candy) and more and I've enjoyed every single second of those scuffles.

All that said, I can't help but admitting that every once in a while I feel kind of bad that I'm enjoying Tomodachi Life as much as I am at the moment. As in, I regularly ask myself some form of the following question: "Why on earth do I keep clicking on these apartment windows, feeding their inhabitants, playing games with them and peeking into their dreams?"

The only answer I've been able to come up with so far is: "Because it's fun." I keep doing the above-mentioned things because I want to hear the next funny thing these goofy-looking Miis are going to say, or I want to watch as they go on dates with their neighbors or play their Wii Us or simply hop around their fabulously decorated (thanks to me) flats.

I'm still more than a bit miffed that the only way to make the Miis that populate your Tomodachi island gay is to use a rather lame workaround, of course, but at least it works well enough that it's not completely jarring or irritating or keeping me from getting a kick out of the overall experience.

Are any of you playing, or have any of you played, the trio of games discussed above? If so, please share your thoughts about them in the comments section below.

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

Shall We Do It? (THE 'DENPA' MEN 3, Etrian Odyssey IV, Final Fantasy Adventure and Nontan to Issho: Kuru Kuru Puzzle)

I've got to be honest here: I haven't had a ton of time to play games since I published the last installment of "Shall We Do It?" a week ago. I believe I spent just enough time with the games mentioned above and below, though, to share at least a few thoughts on them here. So, let's get to it, shall we?

THE "DENPA" MEN 3 (3DS)--Speaking of the above, I only played this 3DS eShop RPG for an hour or so this past week. I would've spent more time with it, but ... I'm kind of lost. I'm guessing it's nothing a quick trip to GameFAQs couldn't help me through, but the fact is I'm not sure I'm interested enough in what's going on right now to bother perusing that site.

As for why that is, well, a big part of it is that THE "DENPA" MEN 3 is starting to feel an awful lot like THE "DENPA" MEN 2-- and I don't necessarily mean that in a good way. Way too many battles pop up while traversing part three's overworld, for starters--and this is coming from someone who usually likes grinding while playing RPGs. (I voiced a similar complaint while attempting to work my way through part two last year.) Combine that with the fact that it can be difficult to know where you're supposed to go to advance the story--even with the game literally pointing you in the general direction--and you've got a not-always-pleasant experience that sometimes veers directly into annoying territory.

Does that mean I'm through with THE "DENPA" MEN 3? Not at all. In fact, I'm going to do my best to put a good dent in it during the next week and a half. Should I get stuck again, though, or should that "good dent" not be enough to fully engage me in this game, I wouldn't be surprised if I gave up on it well in advance of the ending credits (just as I did with its predecessor).

Etrian Odyssey IV (3DS)--Although I think there's also a chance that I'll give up on Etrian Odyssey IV before I encounter its end credits, I have a feeling I'll find a way to finish it--and hopefully in the next week or two.

I'm still meandering my way through what I believe is its final dungeon, by the way--or maybe it's the dungeon that leads to the final dungeon? Regardless, I'm seemingly about halfway through it now. (I'm just about to start the third section--I think.) Like I said in my last "Shall We Do It?" post, I'm not at all sure why this game's designers or developers decided to make players go through portions of previously visited (and beaten) dungeons at the end of the adventure. For me, that's about the worst kind of buzzkill you can throw at me as a title nears its climax. In fact, I usually want and expect the opposite out of an RPG's closing salvo--as in, new enemies, new environments and new experiences. Otherwise, it can feel like a slog--as it is in Etrian Odyssey IV right now.

Final Fantasy Adventure (GameBoy)--It may sound strange, but I'm currently enjoying this "old" RPG--which is the first Mana, or Seiken Densetsu, game, in case you haven't heard already--far more than I'm enjoying either of the other, more modern examples of the genre that I just mentioned.

That said, I do have a few critiques to level against it. One such critique: it's far too easy to get lost within its dungeons and even while exploring its overworld. In fact, I found myself lost on three occasions the last time I played it (last weekend), and only one instance could've been blamed on my own ignorance. (As in, I forgot that I could use my battle axe to chop down trees to access otherwise off-limits areas.)

Speaking of getting lost on this game's overworld, the map that's made available by pressing the GameBoy's "Select" button is some kind of cruel joke, right? I mean, what's the point of it otherwise? Sure, it displays towns and a few other points of interest while also showing the player's proximity to them, but that's about it. It's so bare bones that I'm honestly confused as to why it was included.

Other than the above, though, I'm really, really digging this portable adventure--which is one part Final Fantasy and one part Zelda, if you've yet to play it yourself--and I fully expect to "beat" it before long (and most likely before I beat either of the aforementioned titles).

Nontan to Issho: Kuru Kuru Puzzle (GameBoy)--Those of you who've actually heard of this adorable import-only puzzler deserve some sort of prize. Sadly, I'm all out of prizes at the moment, so, uh, give yourself a pat on the back?

Anyway, I started playing this one after my blogging friend and podcast cohort Anne Lee announced her #PuzzleMonth game-along event a couple of days ago. (Go here to learn more about it.)

If this is the first you've heard of Kuru Kuru Puzzle, for the most part it's your typical match-three--or in the case of this game, match-two--puzzle game. It does offer up a slight twist on the tried-and-true formula, though; that being that the tiles can't be rotated as they can in other such games. Rather, they can be flipped--with the image on the flipped side generally being an alternate take of the previous side's imagery. (Examples: a whole apple and a half of an apple, a fish and fish bones, etc.)

It's not what I would call a mind-blowing change to the genre, mind you, but it definitely helps make this particular game just interesting enough to be worthwhile for folks who like puzzlers that require them to match tiles.

Finally, a couple of fun facts about Kuru Kuru Puzzle: the cat with the fly-catcher mouth that serves as this game's protagonist also served as the protagonist of a series of children's picture books first published in Japan in 1976, according to this HardcoreGaming101 article. Also, the folks behind the Pokémon series, Game Freak, developed a Super Famicom version of this game. (Some company called Access made the GameBoy iteration.)

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

A bevy of QR codes for folks who need to buff up their 'DENPA' MEN 3 parties

Like I mentioned in the "Shall We Do It?" post I published yesterday, I've only played THE "DENPA" MEN 3 for about five hours so far, but already I'm enjoying it more than I enjoyed its predecessor.

Also like I said in the aforementioned post, I'm not exactly sure why that's the case, although I think some of it may have to do with this "DENPA" MEN game being a smidge easier than the last, surprisingly enough. (I say surprisingly enough because I've always preferred my RPGs to be on the tough side.) Or it may have something to do with the fact that in THE "DENPA" MEN 3 you're able to scan QR codes--and, thus, bolster your parties--right from the word go.

Speaking of which, should any of you be looking for some worthwhile "Denpa" men to add to your teams, here are a handful of particularly interesting ones that I've nabbed while out and about the last few days.

I especially like Morgan (above) and his poop-shaped noggin, of course. If only he had an antenna. Oh, well, as my mom's always told me, nobody's perfect.

By the way, if the "Denpa" men above aren't enough for you, you may want to peruse the QR code posts I published for the first two "DENPA" MEN games. All of them should "play nice" with this third game in the series, too--or so I've read. (I've only tried a couple of them myself so far.)

Anyway, said QR code posts can be found here, here, here, here and here. 

Shall We Do It? (THE 'DENPA' MEN 3 and Etrian Odyssey IV)

Well, folks, I have good news and bad news for you regarding my on-going playthrough of Etrian Odyssey IV. The good news is that I've now put about 60 hours into this 3DS-based dungeon-crawler and, as a result, I believe I'm now in the "home stretch" of the game, so to speak. The bad news? I haven't played it since I downloaded THE "DENPA" MEN 3 about five days ago.

Don't get me wrong, I was enjoying Etrian Odyssey IV a great deal while I was still playing it (and I'll get back to playing it soon enough, I assure you), but I have to admit I was starting to enter another one of those "interest lulls" I mentioned in my last "Shall We Do It?" post when THE "DENPA" MEN 3 took over. Of course, I guess that's to be expected when you keep ducking in and out--and in and out, and in and out--of what very well could be the gaming world's longest series of interconnected dungeons.

And then there's the related fact that the final section of Etrian Odyssey IV was beginning to give me some serious Bravely Default vibes thanks to the semi-recycled locales and color-swapped baddies. Now, it's not anywhere near as bad in Etrian Odyssey IV as it was in Bravely Default, mind you, but it is a bit ... deflating to make your way to the end of a game only to find you have to go through a bunch of old dungeons again before you can face the final boss.

So, enough about that one for the time being. Instead, let's talk about THE "DENPA" MEN 3 for a bit.

I've put about five hours into this eShop RPG so far, and for whatever reason I seem to be enjoying it more than I enjoyed its predecessor. Unfortunately, I'm not sure I can say why that is. It very well may be that, despite the fact that I nearly had my ass handed to me during my very first battle, this third entry in Genius Sonority's series feels a smidge easier than the second (although I have to say that the difficulty level of the first one, which I consider to be the "worst" of them all, didn't bother me at all). Or, it may be that this game's overworld is less annoying than the one featured in the last.

One thing I'm not completely stoked about when it comes to THE "DENPA" MEN 3 is that it includes a bunch of enemies that also appeared in the last two titles. Plus, the new ones that have shown their faces so far aren't what I would call the most appealing or creative in terms of their designs.

I'm finding this game's soundtrack kind of disappointing, too. Thankfully, the surprisingly tender tune that plays while exploring "Cannon Village" pretty much makes up for all of the lackluster ones that accompany it.

Despite those two rather minor complaints, though, I'm really liking THE "DENPA" MEN 3 thus far--although I've yet to even think about pimping out the homes of my "Denpa" men, à la Animal Crossing. I guess that means I have something to look forward to if (or when) my interest in the main adventure wanes a bit?

Are any of you also making your way through THE "DENPA" MEN 3 at the moment? If so, what do you think of it?

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

A challenger to the 'Year of the GameBoy' appears

Why? Because, as you've hopefully already heard, the folks at Genius Sonority announced yesterday that THE "DENPA" MEN 3: The Rise of Digitoll will float onto the European and North American 3DS eShops sometime this summer.

Combine that exciting nugget of news with my recent A Link Between Worlds, Bravely Default and even Attack of the Friday Monsters obsessions and it's pretty clear the 3DS is going to give the GameBoy a run for its money when it comes to earning the top spot in my heart and mind this year.

After all, the first "DENPA" MEN adventure was my favorite game of 2012, and even though I wasn't quite as enamored with its follow-up I still plan to put a good few hours into part three, which appears to feature an Animal Crossing-esque house-decorating element as well as a number of interesting online modes.

The former can be seen in THE "DENPA" MEN 3's first official (in English, at least) trailer, by the way. Check it out here if you're curious.

Are any of you excited about this impending release (a demo of which is supposed to hit the eShop in May)? If so, did you also play--and enjoy--any of the previous titles in the series, or will this be your first time at the "DENPA" MEN rodeo?

So, will this one be called THE "DENPA" MEN 3: They Came by Waves from the Beyond?

You know, because the first one was called THE "DENPA" MEN: They Came by Wave and the second was called THE "DENPA" MEN 2: Beyond the Waves.

Seriously, though, it appears that the third "DENPA" MEN title, released in Japan last September, will land on Western shores sometime in the coming months, as it recently received a rating from Australia's Classification Board. (Thanks to Twitterer Lance McGill, aka @infernal_monkey, for pointing out this fact, by the way)

Anyway, here's hoping the game is rated and released in other markets--like, um, North America--sooner rather than later, too.

In the meantime, check out the trailer above to see some of what's new in this iteration. (My favorite addition: the ability to decorate your house à la Animal Crossing: New Leaf.)

The question is: will Denpa Ningen no RPG 3 (aka THE 'DENPA' MEN 3) ever see the light of day outside of Japan?

Sadly, I'd say the most likely answer to the question above is something along the lines of "I doubt it."

That's mainly because although the first two Denpa Ningen no RPG (aka THE "DENPA" MEN) titles have sold surprisingly well since they were first released in Japan, all signs--such as Genius Sonority CEO Manabu Yamana's comments at the beginning of this recent Q&A--point to them not selling as well elsewhere.

Given my undying love for both previous entries in this colorfully charming series of digital RPGs, I obviously hope the just-announced third one, which will hit the Japanese 3DS eShop on Aug. 7, makes its way across the pond at some point--even if the earlier ones were out-and-out bombs in my neck of the woods.



Actually, I'd feel that way even if I wasn't a "DENPA" MEN fan, thanks to all of the additions that seemingly will be included in part three. I could use a bunch of bullet points and text to explain them here, but I think a much more appealing tactic would be to ask those of you who are interested to watch the video above, which was excised from this recent Chotto Nintendo Direct broadcast.

Sadly, the most enticing aspect of Denpa Ningen no RPG 3 for yours truly is the new head shape that looks startlingly like those cartoonish piles of poo you see all the time in Japanese anime, manga and video games.