Nice Package! (Banishing Racer, GameBoy)

The first time I laid my eyes on Banishing Racer's box cover (don't ask me when, it's all a blur now), I thought, I need to have that!

Mind you, this was before I'd played even a single second of the game. And it was before I discovered just how much you have to pay for a copy of it these days, too.

Back then, though, neither of those things mattered. All I cared about was the brilliantly colorful illustration that's showcased in the photo below.

OK, so I also liked its name. Banishing Racer. Or Vanishing Racer, as some prefer. Not that the latter makes any more sense than the former.

Whatever. I thought it was silly. And kind of appropriate, considering the game is a bizarre side-scroller that stars an anthropomorphic car. (The cross-eyed green one that's front and center on the Banishing Racer cover, above.)

If a platformer with a four-wheeled protagonist sounds somewhat familiar, that's probably because you've played-or heard of--another Jaleco-made game, 1985's City Connection.

Although I don't believe the now-defunct developer and publisher ever specifically declared Banishing Racer to be an official or even spiritual follow-up to that arcade (as well as Famicom and NES) classic, it sure seems like it at least has to be the latter.

Regardless, this Japan-only GameBoy release is a unique and mostly entertaining offering.

I say "mostly" here because controlling the begloved bug--or whatever type of auto it's supposed to be--that serves as Banishing Racer's main character isn't always effortless, the game's difficulty wavers wildly between cakewalk easy and pull-your-hair-out tough, and it includes a measly 15 stages (a couple of which are painfully short).

But it also looks and sounds great (see and hear what I mean by checking out this Banishing Racer longplay), plus it's simply fun to play a side-scrolling action game in which you're plopped into the shoes--or, erm, wheels--of something other than a person or an animal.

For me, Banishing Racer's positive attributes outweigh its negative ones in the end, although I acknowledge that not everyone feels this way. The proprietor of one of my favorite retro-gaming blogs, VGJUNK, certainly doesn't share my love of this cart, and I've had conversations with a number of other folks who similarly turn their noses up at it.

I'll bet even they have a soft spot for Banishing Racer's box art, though; and its cartridge label and instruction manual cover, too.

Disappointingly, the Banishing Racer manual isn't as wonderful as you probably expect it to be given the game's key art. It's not terrible, but it's also not chock-full of grin-inducing illustrations. Don't take my word for it; you can decide for yourself when I feature it in an upcoming "Manual Stimulation" post.

In the meantime, what do all of you think of the Banishing Racer packaging shots showcased in this post? And what do you think of the game itself, if you've ever played it?

See also: previous 'Nice Package!' posts about Burning Paper, Noobow, Penguin-kun Wars, and Shippo de Bun

Welcome to WonderSwan World: Special Glamour Shots® Edition

Three WonderSwan-focused posts in a row? Seriously?

Yes, seriously.

I guess you could say I have Bandai's Japan-only GameBoy competitor on the brain right now. Don't worry, I'll write about something else in the next few days. (In fact, a couple of half-finished, 3DS-centric posts are staring at me, begging to be wrapped up, as I type this one.)

In the meantime, I hope you'll enjoy ogling the following photos I recently snapped of my WonderSwan Color system and a selection of the WonderSwan games I brought on the road with me this year.



I took these photos in a Palm Springs (California) hotel room, by the way. Its decor didn't exactly lend itself well to such snapshots, so I improvised a light box by going to a nearby Walmart (don't judge), buying a large piece of white poster board and then laying it on a table near our room's main windows.

Granted, that isn't a whole lot different from what I did to nab game and console photos back when I lived in Seattle. There, I placed items on a white, well-lit IKEA table that also effectively replicated a light box.

Anyway, enough about that. I promised WonderSwan Glamour Shots®, so let's focus on them from here on out, shall we?

The first two showcased here are of my translucent black WonderSwan Color system. It's a real beauty, isn't it? Honestly, I'm head-over-heels in love with this handheld's design. Strangely, I think I like the look of the original WonderSwan best (it's a tad sleeker and smidge more minimalist than its two successors), but the Color is pretty sweet, too.

If you'd like to see a few photos of the WonderSwan Color's box, by the way, you can do so by checking out my first "Welcome to WonderSwan World" post or this Flickr photo album. (The latter includes shots of a number of WonderSwan game boxes, cartridges and manuals, too, in case that sort of thing interests you.)

Nice Package! (Puzzle Bobble, WonderSwan)

I've got to be honest here: I was more than a bit apprehensive about buying a black-and-white port of Taito's Puzzle Bobble.

The fact is, I'm generally not all that interested in black-and-white ports of games that usually are drenched in color. You know, like, the platformer--Bubble Bobble--that spawned this puzzler. Or Puyo Puyo. Hell, even Pac-Man, Bomberman and Adventures of Lolo come to mind.

Still, I've had some good times with the pair of Bubble Bobble titles that were published for the GameBoy in 1990 and 1993. Also, I'm surprisingly fond of Rainbow Islands: Putty's Party, as I explained in my most recent "Welcome to WonderSwan World" write-up.

So, when I came across a rather cheap complete-in-box copy of Puzzle Bobble for WonderSwan a couple of months ago, I bit the bullet and bought it despite my initial reservations.

Am I happy I with my purchase now that I've spent some time with this seemingly gimped conversion of Taito's classic coin-op? Yes, I am.

I don't want to say too much about why that is in this post, though, because I'll cover a lot of that ground in a future installment of "Welcome to WonderSwan World."

What I'm willing to say here: Puzzle Bobble's WonderSwan port both looks and sounds better than you're probably imagining (you can see and hear what I'm talking about in this YouTube longplay of the game). Also, it's surprisingly enjoyable to play.



This iteration's graphics and gameplay aren't solely responsible for why I'm glad I added this title to my growing collection of WonderSwan carts, however. Just as responsible: its packaging, of course.

The best part of owning a complete-in-box copy of Puzzle Bobble for WonderSwan, in my humble opinion, is its cover art. Although not as amazing as the illustration conjured up for the game's Neo Geo Pocket Color port (see it here), it's basically on par with the one plastered across the front of the Puzzle Bobble Super Famicom box.

Going back to Puzzle Bobble's WonderSwan cover imagery, while looking at this post's first photo, you may notice it sports both a Taito as well as a Sunsoft logo.

That's because, unlike the original arcade release of Puzzle Bobble, which Taito developed and published, Sunsoft published this one--at the beginning of July in 1999.



Sunsoft didn't develop it, though. A company called Yoshidayama Workshop handled that task.

Don't worry if Yoshidayama Workshop doesn't ring a bell; before I started doing my research for this post, I'd never come across its name either.

Which makes sense, as according to GameFAQs, Yoshidayama Workshop only ever developed a small handful of video games. Besides this portable Puzzle Bobble, it also produced two other WonderSwan titles (Meta Communication Therapy: Nee Kiite!, released in 2000, and Wonder Classic, released in 2001) and a Japan-only GameBoy cartridge called Itsudemo! Nyan to Wonderful.

I can't speak to the quality of that trio of games, as I've never played any of them, but I can say Yoshidayama Workshop did a pretty good job down-porting Taito's Bubble Bobble-inspired puzzler to the WonderSwan hardware.

I wish I could say the same about the designers who created this title's instruction booklet. Sure, it's colorful, as a glance at the photo above should make clear, but it's also devoid of the kinds of illustrations that pop up in every other Bubble Bobble or Puzzle Bobble manual I've seen to date.

Oh, well, it's hardly the end of the world--especially when the rest of this Puzzle Bobble release's packaging is so stellar.

What do you think of the box, cartridge and manual shots shown throughout this post? Also, what do you think of this version of Puzzle Bobble? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

See also: previous 'Nice Package!' posts

Nice Package! (Ninja Jajamaru-kun: Sakura-hime to Karyu no Himitsu, 3DS)

Although I've wanted a copy of Ninja Jajamaru-kun: Sakura-hime to Karyu no Himitsu since it was first announced for release, I wasn't willing to pay full price for one.

So, I bided my time. That patience paid off last fall--three-and-a-half years after it first hit the streets of Japan--when I came across an unopened copy of this 3DS title being sold for just $20.



Was it worth the wait--and my 20 bucks? I'd say so, though I've only played Sakura-hime to Karyu no Himitsu for a couple of hours thus far.

Thankfully, that was enough for me to see that this latest Ninja Jajamaru-kun sequel (you can read about earlier ones via hardcoregaming101.net) is a real treat for the eyes, at the very least.

It's fun, too, don't get me wrong. Sakura-hime to Karyu no Himitsu's platforming action isn't going to win awards for its uniqueness, but it's crisp and solid and enjoyable enough. That's more than I was expecting from it, to be honest, so I'm happy with my investment.

All that said, I wouldn't have minded if Jaleco's designers had made the protagonist and enemy sprites larger. In their current state, they're a bit too small for my liking. Still, they're well drawn and nicely animated, so it's hard to complain too loudly.

With that out of the way, are you up for a little history lesson? The first tidbit I'd like to pass along is that Sakura-hime to Karyu no Himitsu actually began life (in 2006) as a DS game. And not only that, but it had a different subtitle at that point in time: Pen wa Ken Yori mo Tsuyoshi de Gozaru, which according to the folks at Hardcore Gaming 101 translates to something like The Pen is Greater than the Sword.

For whatever reason, Ninja Jajamaru-kun: Pen wa Ken Yori mo Tsuyoshi de Gozaru never saw the light of day. However, it's pretty clear that game lives on in Sakura-hime to Karyu no Himitsu, which hit Japanese store shelves (as well as that region's 3DS eShop) in 2013. Early screenshots of the DS title show off characters and environments that are nearly identical to comparable elements found in the 3DS release.

Also, you may have noticed that the cover art and cartridge label above sport "Hamster" logos. That's because although Jaleco developed Sakura-hime to Karyu no Himitsu and seemingly intended to publish it as well, those plans changed when the company was bought out by Game Yarou.

At some point along the way, Hamster Corporation stepped in and brought the game to market. I wish I could tell you when or why or how this intervention came about, but I can't.



As for Ninja Jajamaru-kun: Sakura-hime to Karyu no Himitsu's packaging, I, for one, think it's fairly nice. I especially like the colorful cover art. Curiously, copies don't come with a full-fledged instruction manual; instead, they come with a single sheet of paper that explains the game's controls and that's it.

Oh, well, I guess it's better than nothing--which is what you get when you buy a boxed 3DS game these days.

See also: previous 'Nice Package!' posts about KiKi KaiKai and Son Son II for the PC Engine

Nice Package! (Seiken Densetsu 2 and 3, Super Famicom)

Square Enix's recent unveiling of the Seiken Densetsu Collection for Switch (due out in Japan on June 1) prompted me to think about a few games I haven't pondered in years.

Specifically, it prompted me to think about Seiken Densetsu 2 and 3, which were released for the Super Famicom in 1993 and 1995, respectively. (The former came to North America later the same year it hit Japan, while other regions had to wait until 1994.)

Actually, I mostly thought about Seiken Densetsu 2, known as Secret of Mana in the West. That's because I've never played the third Seiken Densetsu game, although I was keenly aware of and interested it in the run-up to its Japanese release.

Anyway, back to Seiken Densetsu 2, I remember when it first started appearing in North American game magazines like Electronic Gaming Monthly and DieHard GameFan, which often referred to it as Final Fantasy Adventure 2.



I loved everything about it from the word go--the colorful backdrops, the surprisingly large (for the time) character and enemy sprites, the plethora of useable weapons and the real-time combat.

I'm pretty sure my brother and I obtained this game as soon as we were able, which likely meant I received it as a birthday gift or we got it for Christmas.

Regardless, we spent a lot of time playing through it together shortly after it hit store shelves in our neck of the woods.

Is there any chance I'll finish Secret of Mana--or Seiken Densetsu 2--if I pick up a copy of the Seiken Densetsu Collection for Switch? (You can pre-order it via amiami.com, by the way.) I kind of doubt it, but who knows?



Far more likely would be for me to finish the first Seiken Densetsu--renamed Final Fantasy Adventure when it was brought to North America--or even Seiken Densetsu 3.

Speaking of the original Seiken Densetsu, here's a post I wrote and published about its beautiful packaging (outer box, cartridge and manual) a while back.

Of course, this post is supposed to be about the beautiful packaging the folks at Square Enix--Squaresoft back then, actually--produced for Seiken Densetsu 2 and 3, so maybe I should start talking about that.

On that note, I think the photos included throughout this write-up are pretty self-explanatory, don't you think?

One comment I'd like to add: Seiken Densetsu 2's box art (see top photo) is one of my all-time favorites.

Also, the clay models of that game's main characters, which can be seen in the snapshot of its instruction booklet, have always brought a smile to my face.

Seiken Densetsu 3's manual is pretty awesome, too--its cover, especially.

What do you think of the boxes, cartridges and manuals made for Seiken Densetsu 2 and 3? And what do you think of the games themselves, if you've played them?

See also: previous 'Nice Package!' posts about Cid to Chocobo no Fushigi na Dungeon (DS), Final Fantasy (Famicom) and Shining Force (Mega Drive)

Nice Package! (Final Fantasy, Famicom)

Final Fantasy may not have been my first console RPG--that would be the original Dragon Warrior, er, Dragon Quest--but it certainly was the first console RPG to blow me away.



Don't get me wrong, I adored (and continue to adore) Dragon Warrior. It's chiefly responsible for developing my current appreciation of both turn-based battles and grinding.

While Enix's game started me down the path of becoming an RPG fan, though, Square's counterpoint took me the rest of the way.



Why? I preferred Final Fantasy's four-member parties, for starters. I also liked that it let you choose the "occupations" of those characters. The quartet being visible during fights was another plus for me.

This may sound strange given how people feel about such things today, but back then I was pretty smitten with Final Fantasy's NES box art, too.

I now know, of course, that the game's North American cover imagery, despite its coral-colored logo, has nothing on its Japanese counterpart.

Strangely, although I've been aware of this fact for ages now, I only recently used it as an excuse to buy a copy of the latter.

That's hard to believe while perusing the photos showcased here. Yoshitaka Amano's illustration is beyond gorgeous, of course, but that's not the extent of this release's positive attributes.

Also impressive (to my eyes, at least): its icy Japanese logo. I'm pretty fond of the English logo that fills most of this box's side flaps, too, I've got to say, though I'd never choose it over the original.



As for the Final Fantasy Famicom instruction manual, it's sweet as well. Not as sweet as it could be, I have to admit, but it contains enough pages like the one above to be worth the price of ownership.

One last comment and then I'll shut up: I like how the back of this title's box displays a couple of sample screenshots. It reminds me of Epic's Flying Hero, which is one of my favorite examples of Famicom game packaging.



And, really, anything that makes me think of that under-appreciated gem deserves all the praise that can be heaped upon it.

See also: previous 'Nice Package!' posts about the City Connection and Rainbow Islands ports

Nice Package! (Guru Logi Champ, GameBoy Advance)

While researching and writing my post of #HudsonMonth game recommendations--which includes a brief mention of this unfortunately obscure puzzler--over the weekend, I came to the shocking realization that the only photo I've published of Guru Logi Champ since acquiring a copy of it in early 2010 is of its cartridge. (Here is the post in question, in case you're curious.)

That's a real shame, as not only is Guru Logi Champ one of the best GameBoy Advance titles around, but its box, cartridge and instruction manual sport some of the best cover (or label) art around.

Don't take my word for it. A single glance at the photo below is all you should need to be convinced of the greatness of this Compile-made game's packaging.



If that's not quite enough to sell you on it, check out the following:

Yes, the flaps on Guru Logi Champ's box feature depictions of the game's adorable duck-like characters.

Those same creatures are plastered across the GameBoy Advance puzzler's instruction manual, too, as you can see in the snapshot above.



Guru Logi Champ's cart label is a slight variation of the main cover art. Hey, at least there's a little difference--too many publishers of GBA games used the same designs on both surfaces, in my experience.

If you'd like to learn more about this 2001 release, by the way, you can do so by reading my Guru Logi Champ review. Also, you can ogle the most interesting pages of the game's instruction manual in this "Manual Stimulation" post. And if you'd like to see a few more photos of its box and cartridge, check out this Flickr album of mine.

See also: previous 'Nice Package!' posts

Nice Package! (Shining Force, Mega Drive)

Although I began the 16-bit generation favoring NEC's and Nintendo's machines over Sega's, that's not how I ended it.

OK, so I wouldn't say the Genesis (or Mega Drive, depending on your preferences) wound up being my favorite of that era's consoles, but I'd definitely say I grew to love it every bit as much as the Super Nintendo and TurboGrafx-16 (or Super Famicom and PC Engine, respectively).

This game is hugely responsible for that change of heart. I distinctly remember reading everything I could about its Japanese release in 1992 and swooning over practically every screenshot and piece of concept art I came across along the way.

That's understandable, right? I mean, Yoshitaka Tamaki's character designs, showcased in the Japanese box art seen above, are beyond fabulous, in my humble opinion.

Shining Force's in-game graphics are just as wonderful, of course. Also wonderful: the title's epic soundtrack, tactical gameplay and likable cast of characters.

In fact, I found all of those things so appealing then, and still find them so appealing now, that I wouldn't hesitate to call Shining Force one of my all-time favorite games.

I also wouldn't hesitate to call Shining Force's Japanese packaging an all-time favorite.

After all, not only is its outer box a stunner, but so is its cartridge. (Seriously, I've always loved the sexy, rounded carts that contained Japanese Mega Drive games.)

Unsurprisingly, its manual is well worth ogling, too, as the photo above should prove.

Don't worry, I'll try to scan and share the entirety of Shining Force's instruction booklet in an upcoming installment of my "Manual Stimulation" series.

In the meantime, please enjoy the snapshots shared throughout this post. (I especially like this last one, by the way. There's just something about its layout that rubs me the right way.)

Also, if you, too, are a big fan of the original Shining Force--or any of this long-running series' releases--let me and others know in the comments section below.

See also: previous 'Nice Package!' posts

Special delivery: Kaneko's Peetan for GameBoy

I don't think I've ever mentioned this here or anywhere else, but for some time now I've dutifully--some would say obsessively--maintained a list of "Holy Grail" GameBoy titles.

Basically, the games named on it are ones I desperately want to own before I kick the bucket.

The list used to be pretty long. I've been able to lop a number of games off of it in recent years, months and weeks, though, thanks to some timely perusals of eBay, Yahoo Japan Auctions and the like.



A few of the titles that have made the transition from my handy text file to my grubby little hands: Tumblepop, Totsugeki! Ponkotsu Tank, Taiyou no Tenshi Marlowe, Snow Bros. Jr., Painter Momopie, Noobow, Bubble Bobble Junior and Astro Rabby.

Oh, and Kaneko's Peetan.

Tracking down and acquiring a complete-in-box copy of that 1991, Japan-only release has been more difficult than you might think. After all, the game rarely pops up on any of the auction sites or online shops I eluded to earlier, and when it does, it usually goes for an obscene amount of money. (Here's a good example.)

So, when I came across the far-cheaper-than-four-hundred-dollars copy of Peetan showcased in the photos found throughout this post, you can bet I jumped on it.

It's not perfect. The colorful outer box is ever-so-slightly torn on its rear side, and the instruction manual is a bit crumpled. Still, it's complete and the game cartridge works like a charm, so I'm more than satisfied.

If you've never played, or even heard of, Peetan, the gist is that it's a lot like one of those old Game & Watch titles Nintendo produced during the 1980s. How so? Well, the whole she-bang is depicted in black and white (or black and green, if you're using an original GameBoy model), for starters. Also, each and every stage sticks to the confines of the brick-like handheld system's screen.

Beyond that, Peetan's gameplay is refreshingly simple. You control a mama chicken who patrols the top fifth of the play area. Below her are a trio of helpless chicks as well as a bunch of seesaws. Throwing a wrench into the works: a hungry mutt (or wolf) who has his eyes--and terrifying chops--set on the above-mentioned hatchlings.

As he stalks your offspring, you press the GameBoy's directional pad to move left or right and jab its A or B buttons to drop eggs that either knock the canid on the head or catapult your chicks toward safety (aka the top of the screen).

It's all rather stressful--something that probably isn't obvious in this Peetan gameplay footage--although the boppy tunes that percolate in the background help cut the tension a bit. (But only a bit.)

Would Peetan have earned a place on the "must buy" list mentioned early on in this post if its gameplay weren't so compelling and exciting? Honestly, I think it would have. Look at that cover art and tell me you wouldn't say the same--if you had any interest in collecting GameBoy titles, I mean.

This Inter State-made game's instruction manual's quite a looker, too, although I hesitate to compare it to its cartridge label. (Don't take my word for it; flip through the Peetan manual yourself.) Still, I'm sure you get the point: that Peetan's packaging is top notch all the way around.

What do you think? Also, have any of you played this old game? If so, what did you think of it?

See also: 'Nu-Bo, Nuubou, Noobow, New--oh, whatever...'