Nightmare Bruce x My Famicase Exhibition 2014 = 'Busy Planet'

My only issue with the "My Famicase Exhibition" that's been held at the Tokyo-based retro-game shop Meteor for the last decade or so: no one ever seems to turn any of the awesome fake Famicom cart labels (which serve as the event's focus) and ideas into actual, playable products.

Will blogger Nightmare Bruce buck that trend and find a way to transform his entry in this year's event, Busy Planet, into an honest-to-goodness game? I doubt it, but I'll be the first to celebrate if he does.

Although the cart label the "Ribbon Black" proprietor concocted is chiefly responsible for my interest in Busy Planet becoming a full-fledged title, I also consider its premise to be pretty appealing:



"The neighborhood is getting so crowded these days! As the only human on a planet full of new creatures, you have to try hard to fit in. Everyone may have their differences, but we can make friends if we work together!"

Admittedly, said premise is more than a tad nonsensical, but that's what's so perfect about it in my mind. I mean, how many Famicom/NES titles didn't feature wackadoodle backstories?

For more information about Busy Planet, check out this recent "Ribbon Black" blog post, and go here (or here) to see more this year's "My Famicase Exhibition" entries.

Who wouldn't want to play a Famicom game called Pooh Goes for a Swim?

Especially when its cart art is as adorable as this:

Sadly, Pooh Goes for a Swim isn't a real Famicom game. Rather, it was conjured up for this year's My Famicase Exhibition, which annually collects a mountain of fake Famicom cartridge art and then displays them on line and in Tokyo's Meteor shop.

Another My Famicase Exhibition game that I'd love to play: Super Mosaic Maker. According to its creator's description, this faux Famicom puzzler puts players in the shoes of a porn maker. Specifically, it gives them the chance to pixelize the naughty bits of an adult film during post-production.

I'm also pretty fond of the following My Famicase Exhibition entrant, although I have to confess I have no idea as to what its title is or what the point of it is. In my mind, though, it involves running and hiding from a pompadour'd bully a la Human Entertainment's spooky Clock Tower series.

To see the rest of the carts that are included in My Famicase Exhibition 2012, check out famicase.com.

(Via tinycartridge.com)

Ain't nothin' like a stroll through Super Potato

Or at least that's what I've been telling myself ever since I came across the photos Darwin Yamamoto--a New York City-based designer and illustrator who has commented here on more than a few occasions--took of the famous retro-games shop during a recent trip to Japan.

The following photo is my favorite because it includes colorful Famicom carts as well as Super Potato's similarly colorful signage.



For pics of the store's Dreamcast and Mega Drive sections, as well as photos of Yamamoto's pick-ups, check out this Flickr set.

Said Flickr set includes photos of other drool-worthy sites, by the way--such as the Dragon Quest-themed Luida's Bar, a shot bar called Muteki Mario and the life-sized Gundam statute that resides on Odaiba, an artificial island near Tokyo.

Hooo, indeed

You know what we need more of in this world? T-shirt designs devoted to the art--yes, the art--of blowing into Nintendo cartridges.

Thankfully, the folks at Polygraph understand that--as evidenced by the following, rather artful (and seductive, if you ask me) design.

Sadly, this shirt is only available for purchase (as far as I can tell) at the Tokyo-based Famicom/music/video shop, Meteor.

Anyone traveling to Tokyo anytime soon?

(Via tinycartridge.com)