Nice Package! (Mizzurna Falls, PlayStation)

I've been obsessed with Mizzurna Falls since I first read an article about it on the now-defunct Eastern Mind blog a number of years ago.

You might think it piqued my interest because it's often described as being something of a precursor to the 2010 cult classic, Deadly Premonition. In reality, the thing that initially attracted me to Mizzurna Falls, which released in Japan (and only in Japan) in 1998, was its captivating cover art.



There's just something about its wintry landscape, and the illuminated town that's nestled among its shadowy mountains and trees, that made me want to own and play this game.

I also was drawn to its odd title and even odder subtitle (the latter being "Country of the Woods and Repose"). And then, of course, I couldn't help but find the Twin Peaks-esque story--that focuses on the mystery of a missing girl--and open-world gameplay alluring.

Another intriguing aspect of Mizzurna Falls: it was developed and published by Human Entertainment, the same company that gave the world the classic survival-horror title, Clock Tower.



Not that the two games are at all alike. Oh, Mizzurna Falls has an unsettling air about it, but I wouldn't say it ever even approaches the terrifying heights of Clock Tower.

Given the above, it shouldn't be too surprising to hear this game's instruction manual is a bit quirky. My favorite spread is the one highlighted above, which details the titular town's map.

I also like the pages near the end of Mizzurna Falls' manual, which offer up English and Japanese lyrics to the title's theme song.

For some dumb reason, I failed to take a photo of the Mizzurna Falls game disc when I snapped the others showcased here. I'd take one now, but I didn't bring the CD with me when I left Seattle early this year. (It's currently in storage--and won't be reunited with me until sometime this summer.)

I can tell you that you're not missing a whole lot. The disc basically depicts the same scene printed on the Mizzurna Falls manual cover--only in black and white rather than in color.

Oh, well, the gameplay embedded on that disc is what's important, right? And Mizzurna Falls' exploration-heavy gameplay is--or at least seems to be, I've only played a small portion of it so far--pretty special.



I'll try to share some more detailed impressions of Mizzurna Falls once I get my hands on its CD again in a month or two. At that time, I'll also scan its instruction manual and share the resulting images in a future installment of my "Manual Stimulation" series.

In the meantime, I'd highly recommend reading the Eastern Mind blog post I linked to earlier. It's more than a review; it offers up all sorts of background information and in-depth analysis that help explain why Mizzurna Falls is so impressive--especially for a 19-year-old game.

See also: previous 'Nice Package!' posts about The Adventure of Puppet Princess, Moon: Remix RPG Adventure, Ore no Shikabane o Koete Yuke and PoPoLoCrois Monogatari.

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

While we wait for me to get off my lazy butt and begin to play The Legend of Legacy (3DS), let's drool over its lovely packaging

An admission that should shock no one who has been visiting this blog for any length of time: since my copy of The Legend of Legacy arrived on our doorstep a couple of weeks ago, the only "action" it's seen so far has involved me groping and ogling and photographing its packaging--and not necessarily in that order.

All of the groping, ogling and photographing surely make sense, though, right? I mean, just look at the snapshot above, which showcases the art that graces the covers of this Japanese 3DS RPG's game and soundtrack cases.

The interior of The Legend of Legacy's game case is worthy of some meaningful stares, too, thanks to the attractive character art that peeks through its many openings. 

The game's fold-up manual and cart label are lookers, too, as this next shot proves. I especially love the art showcased on the manual's front side, which calls to mind the art that's often been produced to promote Square Enix's wonderfully weird SaGa series over the years.

Unsurprisingly, the interior of The Legend of Legacy's soundtrack slipcase (below) is more of the same--as in, it's equal parts beautiful and SaGa-esque.

The backside of the game's case, and the backside of the soundtrack's slipcase, are nearly as pretty as their fronts. Seriously, the art included here is so SaGa it's almost ridiculous--which of course is why I love it so much. It almost seems inspired by art nouveau, but with a Japanese twist.

With all of that said, have any of you played The Legend of Legacy yet? If so, what do you think of it? 

And if you haven't played the game, what do you think of the box art, cart label, soundtrack and more shown throughout this post?

Reason #402 I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

I have a bit of a "thing" for European DS game cases.

Oh, get your minds out of the gutter. I don't mean that I, uh, do things with them; I mean that I have an odd attraction to them.

It all started when I bought a copy of Freshly-Pickled Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland from the UK. For some unknown reason, that game's clear, thicker-than-the-ones-we-get-in-North-America case (see it in this photo) appealed to me so much that I wanted a few more.

I got my wish a few months later when I picked up a copy of the Euro version of Professor Layton and the Curious Village. (Here's a photo of it, in case you're, er, curious.)



There was, it seems, no turning back after that, as I quickly added Euro copies of Professor Layton and Pandora's Box, Professor Layton and the Lost Future, Last Window (the sequel to Hotel Dusk: Room 215) and Jam with the Band to my collection of DS games. (Photos of the aforementioned games can be seen here, here, here and here, respectively.)

Sadly--for my bank account, especially--I'm not through purchasing such games. I plan on picking up a copy of the Euro release of Inazuma Eleven at some point this year, for instance, and I also hope to buy a copy of Professor Layton and the Spectre's Call (the fourth in the series--it was called Professor Layton and the Last Specter in the States).

After that, though, I probably put a cork in this particular obsession--or at least that's what I'm hoping to do.

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