Haggar the whore-ible (or, enjoying the carnal pleasures of the sexy, gay, Final Fight-esque brawler, Strange Flesh)

I don't often write about "adult" games here.

Of course, I don't often play such games, either, and that's not because I'm a prude or because I otherwise turn my nose up at them.

Actually, I love playing games that titillate--especially if that titillation is aimed at the LGBT community.



Unfortunately, few games featuring content that's both adult and gay ever ping my radar. Besides the one discussed here, the only others that have done so in recent years are the steamy visual novel, Coming Out on Top, and the surprisingly sexy bullet-hell shmup, Sugar Shooter. (I've also written about the beef-tastic JRPG called Ana Holic!, but I've yet to play it.)

Given all of the above, it shouldn't be surprising to hear I was more than a bit excited when I first became aware of Strange Flesh (via this eye-opening--not to mention NSFW--teaser image) just before its release in late October.

At least, I was excited until I discovered the game was an old-school beat 'em up in the same vein as Double Dragon, Final Fight, Golden Axe, River City Ransom--you know the drill.

You see, although I've long been intrigued by side-scrolling brawlers like the ones I just named, I've rarely enjoyed playing them. Or maybe I should say I've only enjoyed playing them to a point. A few stages in, I'm bored to tears and ready to tackle something--anything--else.



Still, I decided to give Strange Flesh a chance. An hour or so later, I walked away. Not because I'd grown tired of it, as I seemingly always do with these kinds of games, but because I'd beaten it.

Granted, Strange Flesh only offers up four stages, so finishing it isn't the most noteworthy of accomplishments. I actually appreciated its brevity, though. Far too many games these days--free or otherwise--require you to dedicate hours upon hours to them. Encountering one that asks for about 45 minutes of your time is refreshing.

You know what else I found refreshing about Strange Flesh? Its graphics, soundtrack, and gameplay. All three components are so convincingly "late 1980s beat 'em up" it's hard not to be astounded by them.

Actually, that statement needs to be amended just a bit. After all, while the bulk of Strange Flesh acts, looks, and sounds like a game that came out alongside Golden Axe and Final Fight, neither of those quarter-munchers (nor any of their counterparts, as far as I'm aware) feature gameplay, graphics, or music that could be considered "adult."



Strange Flesh, on the other hand, is full of such content. Hell, you'll see something eyebrow-raising every few steps as you play through this PC game. (Download it or launch its browser version at greatestbear.com.)

After you punch, kick, and tackle the game's "figments" and "projections" (all of the action here takes place in the player's mind), you, uh, "finish them off," too--and you do so in various ways that would make most moms blush, or worse.

Speaking of which, a little disclaimer: if regularly witnessing pixelated depictions of gay sex (some of which are kinkier than others) turns you off, you should stay far away from Strange Flesh.

Which isn't to say that's all there is to this title. The core gameplay is both smooth and satisfying, even when controlled via keyboard-button presses. (Note: this is how I played through Strange Flesh. Three times.) In fact, I'd go so far as to say that if Strange Flesh were fornication-free, it would be well worth a look by all fans of the genre.



As things stand, though, it's hard to give it a blanket recommendation. Although I'm sure some straight folks will get a kick out of it, many more likely will find it disgusting or distasteful. I have the feeling the same could be said of a sizable portion of the LGBT community.

Still, I can't be the only person in the world who finds the idea of playing a pervy, gay Double Dragon clone thrilling. To anyone who feels similarly, I say: give Strange Flesh a try.

See also: Strange Flesh's spot-on instruction manual

A piece of news that should surprise no one: I'm eyeing up another Japan-only 3DS puzzler

Pretty soon, my "collection" of Japanese 3DS games will consist solely of import-only puzzlers.

OK, so that's a bit of an overstatement, but only a bit. After all, I already have Osawari Tantei Nameko Daihanshoku (aka Touch Detective: Funghi's Big Breed), and pretty soon I'll have Zoo Keeper 3D, too.

Should I add Rocket Company's Kumamon ★ Bomber Puzzle de Kumamon Taisou to that list in a few months--and I likely will, as I've already pre-ordered it via AmiAmi.com--import-only puzzlers will make up just under 50 percent of my Japanese 3DS games collection.

This fruit-matching game's box art can be seen here, by the way, while additional screenshots of it can be seen over at japanese3ds.com.

Kumamon ★ Bomber Puzzle de Kumamon Taisou will hit Japanese store shelves--as well as the 3DS eShop, I'm guessing--on March 13 carrying a price tag of ¥5,040 (about $50).

Who doesn't like muscle bears with shiny butts?

Wait, you didn't come here thinking this would be a Video Games Made Me Gay-esque post showcasing the hot, muscular bods of actual human males, did you? Or maybe you expected to encounter a post that's centered on the lascivious lads that populate Dudedle Studio's Sugar Shooter series?

If you did, please accept my apologies.

There is a muscular bear with a shiny butt at the heart of this particular post, though--although he's an actual bear (well, a cartoon one) rather than the figurative sort that make up a good portion of the gay community.

So, how many of you are now thinking to yourselves, I'll never look at Stitches (from the Animal Crossing series) the same way again? I'm guessing a good number of you.

The strip above was produced by the super-talented "Nightmare Bruce" who runs the Ribbon Black blog, by the way. Check out more of his adorable, New Leaf-inspired "This Week in Town" comics here.

This week in 'Import-Only Box Art That Has Piqued Bryan's Interest': Danganronpa 1+2 Reload (Vita)

I know, it really doesn't take much to pique my interest when it comes to Japanese box art.

Still, you have to admit the box art that's been produced for Spike Chunsoft's upcoming Vita title, Danganronpa 1+2 Reload, is pretty snazzy.

Of course, I've been known to be swayed by the presence of rainbows and bears, and Danganronpa 1+2 Reload's cover art features both, so it's possible I'm a smidge biased.

Anyway, Danganronpa 1+2 Reload, which includes remade versions of Spike Chunsoft's pair of PSP-based visual novels known as Danganronpa and Super Danganronpa 2, will hit Japanese store shelves on Oct. 26.

One half of that game's content--the first half, if you're curious--will be released in Europe and North America sometime early next year.

Reason #406 I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

Let's make this one really easy: Many a person could--and should--consider me an "eccentric" (aka bat-shit crazy) gamer because I'm seriously considering buying the 3DS game you see below.

How seriously? Well, not as seriously as you may think, but seriously enough for me to add it to my "save items list" over at play-asia.com, at the very least.



For those of you wondering what in the hell you're looking at: It's a soon-to-be-released Japanese 3DS game called Neratte! Tobashite! Rilakkuma Guragura Sweets Tower. (That's Aim! Hurl! Rilakkuma's Shaky Sweets Tower, for everyone who's like me and doesn't know a lick of Japanese.)

Oh, and it'll hit the streets in Japan on Dec. 13 carrying a price tag of ¥5,040 (about $63).

I'm sure at least a few of you are thinking, "That doesn't sound too crazy to me"--especially since I've hardly been shy about expressing my penchant for adorable games. Would you feel the same way, though, if you knew that Neratte! Tobashite! Rilakkuma Guragura Sweets Tower was little more than a cuter-than-it-has-any-right-to-be Angry Birds clone (a fact that is made painfully evident in the video below)?



That last bit is what's keeping me from considering Neratte! Tobashite! Rilakkuma Guragura Sweets Tower too seriously at the moment.

Should I find a copy of this pixelated confection selling for, say, $20 on eBay in the near or distant future, though, I can't promise I'll be able to keep myself from adding it to my collection.

See also: Other reasons I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

Ten questions with one of the main dudes at Dudedle Studio

I had such a blast playing through Dudedle Studio's Sugar Shooter a few months back that shortly after I finished my review of it I reached out to Punipen, the studio's chief designer, programmer and scenario writer, in an attempt to get to know the guys behind this boss-rush, bullet-hell shmup that's aimed at the bara-loving set a bit better.

Thankfully, he wasn't at all turned off by my (completely honorable, I assure you) advances and graciously agreed to answer a handful of questions--I know only nine appear below, despite the promises of the headline above, but the first one originally was split into two--about the company's background, what prompted him and his colleagues to create the sexy Sugar Shooter and why they make gay games in general.

The Gay Gamer: Can you tell me a bit about Dudedle Studio's back- ground? When was the company founded, for instance? Also, why was it founded? What were your goals for the company?

Punipen: First of all, I think we're more of a studio or group of indie developers than a company. We started making games as a hobby, just for fun. And since we're all gay, we [decided we] would develop erotic games for gay people.

If you know about H-games, you'll see that there are literally tons of them on the market in Japan. Many of them are very good and were turned into animation afterwards, such as Air, Kanon, To Heart, etc.

Sadly, the gay audience is neglected [by the makers of these games]. If you're talking about gay games that feature manly men, they hardly exist. The only company that stands out [for making such games] in Japan right now is Underground Campaign, which is led by Senga Migiri-san.

When we checked [the availability of these kinds of games] outside of Japan, we found that the scenario wasn't so different. While there are Flash games that target gay people who prefer manly men, none of these are big games like the ones Underground Campaign has made. Also, there are many people who wish these kinds of games were available for English speakers.

So, you could say that we've been toying with the idea of making a gay game [for a worldwide audience] for a while.

We didn't actually start making one, though, until Takezamurai-san, the main artist for Sugar Shooter, tweeted me saying that he wished he could make a game. He's a great artist, and I've always been a big fan of his, so I was like, 'Why not?' I got in touch with him and that's when we started working on Sugar Shooter.

So, you could say that our group was founded on November 14, 2010--which is when Sugar Shooter was first released in Japan.

I think it's about time I played a bullet-hell shmup starring beefy boys in underwear (and, no, I'm not talking about Cho Aniki)

One of the reasons I'm not talking about the infamous Cho Aniki or any of its sequels in the headline above is that none of those Masaya-developed games are bullet-hell shoot 'em ups (or shmups). Another reason: Although Cho Aniki and its ilk feature plenty of beefy boys, none of them, as far as I'm aware (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), feature beefy boys who gradually lose their clothing as they're barraged by enemy bullets.

So, which game am I talking about in the headline above (and in this post)? Why, I'm talking about Sugar Shooter, a shareware PC game developed by the folks at Dudedle Studios.



Just in case "bullet-hell shmup featuring beefy boys in underwear" isn't detailed enough for you, here's the developer's official description of the game: "Sugar Shooter is an erotic shoot’em up game! Taking control of Satan-kun, the prince of the Sweet Kingdom and protect your world from being eaten by the invaders. Beat them and make them pay for they’ve done to your kingdom!"

If none of the above--including that strangely alluring screenshot--makes a lick of sense to you, maybe you should watch the following trailer for the game. (Warning: Neither character winds up naked at the end of the video.)



For more information on Sugar Shooter or any of Dudedle Studio's other games--one of which is a sequel to Sugar Shooter--check out the company's website at dudedlestudio.com.

(Via the completely-not-safe-for-work baragamer.com)