I know I've already declared it the 'Year of the GameBoy,' but I think there's room for Birdo too

Considering how hands-down fabulous Birdo is and always has been, it sure is a shame how shabbily Nintendo has treated her over the years.

Thankfully, Twitter user Markatansky decided to go ahead and do what the folks at Nintendo surely are unwilling to do at this point--which is declare this the "Year of Birdo."

Yes, that flies directly in the face of my own campaign that's centered around this being the "Year of the GameBoy," but I'm OK with that--especially since the focal point of Markatansky's effort is the awesome t-shirt that can be seen on the right.

(For anyone who's curious, here's what it looks like in real life.)

It's still possible to nab one or more of these hot-pink tees, by the way--or at least I think it is. As far as I can tell, should enough people go to teespring.com, click on the "I still want this!" button in the lower-right corner and proceed to place a pre-order (as I did a week or so ago), Markatansky's design will be offered up for sale once again.

So, what are all of you "super glam" Birdo fans waiting for?

How on earth did I miss 7th Dragon 2020-II's announcement?

Seriously, how did I miss Sega's announcement that it would be releasing a sequel to 7th Dragon 2020 (itself a follow-up to the awesome-looking DS game, 7th Dragon) this spring?

Oh, well, there's nothing I can do about that. And, really, all that matters is that I know about it now.

As for why I'm so happy I've finally discovered this Imageepoch-developed PSP title: it features idols that are able to unleash some of the most fabulous attacks I've ever seen in an RPG.

Don't believe me? Check out this video:



7th Dragon 2020-II is due out in Japan on April 18, by the way. Since the previous installments in this series failed to see release outside the Land of the Rising Sun, I have to imagine this one will suffer the same fate.

Which is understandable to a degree, of course--the PSP hasn't been a viable system in western markets for years, after all--I can't help but be a bit disappointed by it all the same.

(Via siliconera.com)

This one's for the ladies

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I may have missed out on a pink 3DS, but I'll be damned if I miss out on one of these

The "one of these" alluded to in the header above, by the way, is the rather posh (and completely fabulous) Princess Peach 3DS case seen below.

Of course, even if I do somehow manage to acquire one of these precious, available-only-in-Japan-at-the-moment cases, I'd more than likely be too much of a chicken to leave the house with it.



Those of you who are less cowardly than I am should know that these must-have, MSY-made accessories will hit the streets of the aforementioned island nation on March 1 carrying a price tag of ¥1,800.

(Via andriasang.com)

Checking in on Captain Rainbow's English translation

To all of you who forgot that someone was even working on an English fan-translation of the skip-developed, Nintendo-published oddity known as Captain Rainbow: No worries, I forgot, too.

Now that you've been reminded, though, you'd probably like to hear how things are going with said fan-translation, right?

Well, according to an update that was posted to kirameki.altervista.org on Jan. 15, the project is back on course after taking a couple of wrong turns over the last few months.



Along with that hopeful message, the folks at Kirameki also shared on their site a new trailer, above, which highlights some of the progress they've made in translating this fabulous (in all senses of the word) Wii title.

Here's hoping that their good fortune continues and that they can get this long-awaited (by me, at least) patch out before the Wii U replaces the Wii as my go-to console.

(Via gonintendo.com)

So, a blogger walks into the Gayme Bar ...

Those of you who follow me on Twitter already know this, but the rest of you likely are in the dark: The garrulous guys at GaymeBar.com asked me to be on another of their fabulous podcasts last weekend. The resulting recording can be heard here.

What did we talk about? If memory serves, we chatted about the games we were playing currently, the best games of 2011 and gay characters/content in games. I'm sure we covered at least a few other topics, too, but I can't remember them at the moment.

Just don't expect to hear much of me during the segment that focuses on the best games of 2011--I've honestly played very few of them and, as such, couldn't really add to the conversation in any meaningful way.

That's not to say I'm opinionless when it comes to my favorite games of the year. In fact, I just finished writing a post that covers that territory. Expect to see it published the week after Christmas.

In the meantime, check out Gayme Bar's "Function 44" if you're a podcast fan and if you have a bit of time on your hands. (I believe the final product is about two hours long, but don't quote me on that.)

See also: 'Belly up to the Gayme Bar, boys (and girls)' and 'My mom would be so proud: I'm included in Gayme Bar's Pass-Around Party Podcast'

You know how I said I'd buy Castle Crashers when the 'Pink Knight Pack' was available?

Well, it is, and I did ... last night!

I've been holding on to a bunch of Microsoft Points, waiting for this day to arrive, so when I saw (via NeoGAF) that the "Pink Knight Pack" was finally available for download--and for free, no less--I raced over to our TV, turned on the Xbox 360 and bought the sucker (Castle Crashers, that is) with nary a second thought.



I've barely scratched the surface of the game thus far, but the little I have, er, scratched has proven to be quite fun. Of course, how could it not be fun when you're controlling a little pink knight who wields a lollipop as a weapon and who unleashes a giant, Slinky-like rainbow as a magical attack?

See also: 'So, where's the Castle Crashers Pink Knight Pack for XBLA?' and 'I guess this means I'm going to have to get Castle Crashers soon'

Here's how you make Final Fantasy IV fabulous

What's more fabulous than the "Boss Battle Theme" Nobuo Uematsu created for Final Fantasy IV? A choreographed dance routine set to said theme, that's what.



I highly doubt the dance routine above originally was set to Uematsu's undulating tune, of course, but who cares? It's wonderful all the same--especially those hip thrusts that start at the 11-second mark.

(Via dorkly.com by way of gonintendo.com)