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

What you see in the photo below is one of seven games that were released as part of Nintendo's bit Generations series for the GameBoy Advance.

All seven titles hit store shelves in 2006 and remained Japan-only affairs until three of them--this one (renamed Orbient in the west), Dialhex (aka Rotohex) and Dotstream (light trax) were remade into WiiWare releases in 2008, 2009 and 2010. (A fourth, Digidrive, made its way onto Nintendo's DSi shop in 2009.)

Although I'd love to own each of these bite-sized Q-Games- and Skip, Ltd.-made titles at some point, I decided to start with Orbital because I've thoroughly enjoyed the time I've spent with its WiiWare counterpart thus far.

I should note that I'd been warned before I bought the copy of Orbital seen above that gameplay found in the original version is often considered to be a bit less accessible than what's included in the follow-up.

Unfortunately, I can't yet support or refute that claim because, well, I've only booted up this Orbital cart (using my hot pink GameBoy Micro) long enough for me to know it's in good working order.

I promise to give it the attention it's due soon. In the meantime, consider picking up Orbient (and Cubello, if you've got the dough) via the Wii's (or the Wii U's) online shop if you're at all interested in captivatingly unique digital games.  

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

Five retro games and systems I'm looking forward to playing in 2012

Last week, I wrote about the 10 soon-to-be-released games that I'm looking forward to playing this year. (Check out this post and then this post if you'd like to see which games made the cut.)

Anyone who has been coming to this blog for any period of time knows that old games are just as likely, if not more likely, to appear on my "now playing" list, so it only makes sense for me to write about the retro games (and systems) I'm looking forward to buying (if need be) and playing this year, too, right?

Five such games and systems are detailed below. Look for five more games and systems to discussed in a similarly titled post that will be published tomorrow.

1. bit Generations series--I've had my eye on these indie-esque GameBoy Advance titles, developed by Skip/Q-Games and published by Nintendo of Japan, for a while now, but I've yet to pick up any of them because ... well, I can't tell you why. I'm sure, though, that my procrastination has some- thing to do with it costing me a pretty penny to buy all seven of them at once. Maybe I'll satisfy my craving for this series by acquiring them slowly but surely (beginning with, say, Dotstream or Orbital).

2. Chack'n Pop--Like Ice Climber and numerous other games before it (hello, Fantasy Zone!), this Famicom port of Taito's arcade should-have-been-a-classic has gone from being one that I hated to being one that I quite honestly adore--despite its overt difficulty. As such, one of my main goals for 2012 is to obtain a complete-in-box copy of this Bubble Bobble precursor. (The box is necessary because the art splashed across it is completely adorable.)

The Gay Gamer x Tiny Cartridge, take two

The second of four posts I wrote for Tiny Cartridge has been published on the handheld-focused site.

The headline I wrote for this post--"Three GBA imports (not Mother 3/Rhythm Tengoku) that should hit the eShop"--does a pretty good job of describing what it's all about.

Basically, I suggest that, assuming they eventually decide to sell GameBoy Advance games via their 3DS eShop, the folks at Nintendo should give Westerners access to a few first-party releases that have never seen the light of day in our neck of the woods.

Photo by Wayne McManus

To see which games were included on my list--and to hear why I selected them--check out tinycartridge.com when you have a chance.

See also: 'The Gay Gamer x Tiny Cartridge, take one'