Help me blow my hard-earned cash on a couple of un-translated Japanese PSone RPGs, too

I know what some of you are thinking. Enough with all of the "I'm learning Japanese and I'm totally jazzed about it" crap! I appreciate where you're coming from, I really do, but I honestly can't help myself.

Although it's still "early doors," as British sports commentators are fond of saying, for me and my studies, I'm far enough along to be able to translate (or look up, if need be) pretty much every word I come across that's written using katakana or hiragana, and I find that pretty darn exciting. Plus, I'm finally starting to learn some kanji and grammar (not necessarily in that order), which is making things even more thrilling.

Anyway, all of the above has me itching to buy some of the Japanese PlayStation RPGs I've long wanted to experience--but previously avoided because of the language barrier--so I can pop them into my trusty PSone-plus-monitor combo and give them a whirl at last. (An added bonus: I figure playing through some of these titles, like The Puppet Princess of Marl Kingdom, will help me expand my vocabulary.)

A couple of the games I'm contemplating at the moment:

PoPoLoCrois Monogatari--This beautiful, sprite-filled adventure is based on Tamori Yousuke's 30-plus-year-old manga series. Sadly, that's all I know about it right now but, really, what else do you need to know about a game that looks a stellar as the one showcased in the screenshot above?

The Puppet Princess of Marl Kingdom--I'm a bit more knowledgable about this Japanese RPG, which was released in other regions as Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure (and eventually was ported to the Nintendo DS). What am I looking forward to most about this title? Seeing its flan attack in action, of course.

TwinBee RPG--OK, so this Konami-made joint isn't as much of a looker as the games mentioned above, but I still want to play it. I mean, it allows you to control low-poly versions of TwinBee, WinBee and GwinBee while battling similarly low-poly enemies that look like turnips and carrots. What's not to like?

As always, I'm open to any and all suggestions you may have when it comes to Japanese PSone RPGs I should add to my ever-growing "to play" list, so feel free to name some in the comments section below.

See also: 'Help me blow my hard-earned cash on some un-translated Japanese PSP RPGs'

Detana!! TwinBee x Loopop Cube: Lup ★ Salad x Rhythm Tengoku stickers

Scanning Loopop Cube: Lup ★ Salad's instruction manual last weekend--for yesterday's "Manual Stimulation" post--reminded me that stuffed inside of said manual was a small sheet of stickers featuring  this PlayStation puzzler's characters in a number of adorable settings and situations.

It also reminded me that I owned a few other sheets of stickers that were packed inside import games I purchased long ago--namely the PC Engine port of Konami's Detana!! TwinBee and Nintendo's Rhythm Tengoku (for the GameBoy Advance).

Detana!! TwinBee's sticker sheet can be seen below. I think my favorite is the one in the upper-left corner, showing Pastel cleaning WinBee's windshield, although the one in the opposite corner is awfully sweet, too.

And here, of course, is the sheet of stickers that came with my copy of Rhythm Tengoku:

Being the huge Rhythm Tengoku (aka Rhythm Heaven) fan that I am, I love all of these stickers, although I can't help but love the onion ones a bit more than the rest.

As for the Loopop Cube: Lup ★ Salad stickers: they're nice, too, aren't they? They're probably my least favorites of all the stickers shown here, but that doesn't mean I dislike them. In fact, I find the one's at the very top of the sheet to be really adorable. I'm not sure what you're supposed to do with the little labels in the lower-right corner, though. Any ideas?

See also: 'Manual Stimulation: Loopop Cube: Lup ★ Salad (PlayStation)' and '12 import games I bought in 2012 but didn't tell you about until now: Loopop Cube: Lup ★ Salad (PlayStation)'

Acquisition #131: TwinBee (Famicom)

True story: I've never been much of a fan of the first game in Konami's TwinBee series.

The PC Engine port of the series' second quarter-muncher, Detana!! TwinBee? Always up for a round or two (or more) of it. And that game's Super Famicom-centric follow-up, Pop'n TwinBee? One of my all-time-favorite shmups.

The original TwinBee, though, has never impressed me. Actually, it's generally produced the opposite reaction--thanks to its pedestrian graphics (especially when compared to its above-mentioned counterparts) and its plodding gameplay.

So, imagine my surprise when I came across a complete-in-box copy of the Famicom version of this antiquated "cute 'em up" on eBay recently ... and found myself wanting to buy it.

I have to (rather sheepishly) admit that the main reason I found myself wanting to buy it was its box art. I mean, just look at it: 

Although I wouldn't say TwinBee's packaging is the among the best I've ever come across, it's certainly among the most colorful. Also, it features flying frogs, knives and strawberries--what more can you ask for in a piece of cover art?

Anyway, as I'm sure you've figured out by now, I went ahead and bought that complete-in-box copy of TwinBee. It helped that it was fairly cheap, of course, but it's possible (OK, likely) I would have picked it up even if it had cost me a few bucks more.

Now all that's left for me to do is put down my computer (and the camera that took the photos above), hook up my trusty Twin Famicom and finally take the game for a spin. 

See also: Previous 'Acquisition 123' posts

In this post: Proof that any piece of pixel art that borrows graphics from TwinBee is awesome

I've been a smidge obsessed with the TwinBee series of "cute 'em ups" (you know, shoot 'em ups that are cute) ever since I first laid eyes on the PC Engine port of Detana!! TwinBee as a teenager.

Actually, I'd say I was only intrigued by the series at that time; I didn't develop a real interest in it until I bought Detana!! TwinBee--it was the first game I ever imported--and played through it a few times, and I didn't become fully obsessed with the series until I picked up--and loved dearly, I might add--Pop'n TwinBee and TwinBee: Rainbow Bell Adventure for the Super Famicom a few years later.

Anyway, I'm sharing all of this in order to show that I have a definite appreciation for Konami's series of cute, overhead shmups. I also have a definite appreciation for the poster to the right, produced by artist Ashley Anderson for the Atlanta-based band, Little Tybee.

Anderson says (on Flickr) that he sifted through nearly 7,000 pixellated images before settling on the ones that appear in this colorful illustration. If you're at all interested in hearing how the artist pieced all of those elements together, check out this blog post at your convenience.

The Great Gaymathon Review #4: TwinBee Taisen Puzzle Dama (PlayStation)

Game: TwinBee Taisen Puzzle Dama

Genre: Puzzle

Developer: Konami

Publisher: Konami

System: PlayStation

Release date: 1994

I wouldn't go so far as to say it's one of gaming's greatest atrocities, but I'd definitely say it's a bit of a shame that the Taisen Puzzle Dama series--think Puyo Puyo with bells instead of blobs and subtly different rules--has yet to make its way to the States. Three Taisen Puzzle Dama games were released for the PlayStation in Japan--including one that features characters from Konami's Tokimeki Memorial series and one that's called Susume! Taisen Puzzle Dama (sorry, I have no idea what "susume" means)--in the mid-1990s, with this TwinBee-themed iteration being the best of the bunch, in my somewhat uneducated opinion. (Although I own all three of the aforementioned games, I've spent quite a bit more time with TwinBee Taisen Puzzle Dama than its successors.) That said, I wouldn't suggest running out and buying a copy unless you're a huge puzzler and/or TwinBee fan, as it's been bested by a number of its peers (namely Puyo Puyo and Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo).

See also: Past 'Great Gaymathon' post