All I want for Christmas is ...

Well, it's that time of year again--if you celebrate Christmas or any of the other "winter holidays" in some form or fashion, of course.

I do, although not in a religious sense, which means I've been forced--yes, forced, I tell you!--to come up with a list of potential presents for a select few people in my life.

Here are the gaming-related gifts that made it onto my list this year, in case any of you are curious:

16GB memory card for Vita--When I bought my pink-and-white Vita early this year, I was so excited about it that I completely ignored the fact that the system comes with just one GB of internal storage memory. In other words, I've barely bought any digital titles since March. Or, rather, I've bought some, but I can't play them because I don't have enough room on my Vita to download them. So, this may be the present--game-related or not--that I want the most this holiday season.

Kiki Kaikai (PC Engine)--I have kind of a weird history with this Taito-made, Japanese-folklore-themed run-and-gun game. When I first played it a few years back, it made me turn up my nose in disgust. To say the game looks a bit bland is an understatement of nearly criminal proportions. Plus, it's tough as nails--and in this case, I don't mean that in a good way. Over time, though, Kiki Kaikai's grown on me--to the point that I'm now chomping at the bit to own a complete-in-box copy of it.

One of these Japanese 3DS cover plates--Full disclosure: I already own three cover plates for the New 3DS I imported a couple of months ago. I tend to think of these cover plates like I think of my precious baseball caps, though--in other words, I want one for every outfit and every occasion. Which should go a long way toward explaining why I long to own both this pink-and-white striped one and this watermelon-inspired one.

Pink Yarn Yoshi amiibo--Would you believe I don't own a single amiibo figure? Hell, I wouldn't believe it if I weren't me. (Does that even make sense?) After all, I just admitted that I'm gaga over Nintendo's New 3DS cover plates, and I admitted last week that I can't be trusted when it comes to that same company's Nintendo Badge Arcade app. For whatever reason, though, I've yet to be bitten by the amiibo bug. That said, I find the pink Yarn Yoshi ones to be the definition of adorable.

Steins;Gate (Vita)--It is with great shame that I reveal I never pre-ordered this game as I promised in the lead up to its release. Actually, that's not true. I did order it, but I later canceled it when I discovered I'd overextended my gaming budget a bit and had to scale things back a bit. I still very much want to experience this highly acclaimed visual novel, though, so even if my parents or husband fail to put a copy under the tree for me, I'll buy one for myself in the days or weeks that follow.

So, those are the gaming-related items I've included in my holiday wish list. What are all of you asking your loved ones for this season?

Happy birthday to me :)

So, as I just gave away in this post's header (above), it's my birthday.

What wild and crazy things have I done since I got out of bed about seven hours ago? Well, playing the "special" mode of the PC Engine port of Parodius Da! counts as wild and crazy, right?

I've also played a good bit of a few other PC Engine games, namely Detana!! TwinBee, Pro Tennis World Court (RPG mode, of course) and Valkyrie no Densetsu.

That's all well and good, I'm sure some of you are thinking, but what about newer games? Have you spent any time with games that were made and released in the last, say, 20 years?

Not really. I'll be playing some of those kinds of games soon, though. Or at least I hope I'll be playing them soon.

That's because between my parents and myself, I received three thoroughly modern games as birthday gifts this year.

OK, so I personally bought two of the three games in question. Also, one of them technically is 20 years old--although the version I snagged is just seven years old.

That particular game would be Chrono Trigger DS, by the way.



Yes, Justin Difazzio, I'm finally going to play this classic Squaresoft RPG. (In case some of you haven't followed every single word I've said on this blog or on Google+, Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr over the years, although I watched my older brother play through most of Chrono Trigger when both of us were much, much younger, I've never played through it myself.)

As for why I bought it now, that would be because Square Enix's online store hosted a bit of a sale yesterday, and one of the best bargains to be had (for a short period of time, it seems) revolved around brand-new copies of Chrono Trigger DS for $6.

Another, far more modern game I bought for myself yesterday: the Vita port of Hatoful Boyfriend.

I've been meaning to buy this pigeon-centric dating sim for ages, but failed to do so until now for all sorts of stupid reasons.

When I heard (via Twitter) that it could be picked up via the PlayStation Store for just $5, though, I hightailed it over there and nabbed a copy as quickly as I was able.

Sadly, I'm not going to be able to play the damn thing until at least Christmas, as the game is 1.9 gigs in size--which is way more than my poor Vita can handle.

As such, until I buy (or receive for Christmas) a Vita memory card, Hatoful Boyfriend is going to have to become intimately acquainted with the other games on my PSN download list.

That leaves just the game my parents so kindly bought and sent me for my birthday: Yo-Kai Watch for 3DS.

I really enjoyed this game's demo, so I'm very much looking forward to playing through the full offering.

Have you played any of these three titles? If so, share your thoughts on them in the comments section below.

Feast your eyes on a few more photos of my sparkly purple PSP

So, I let it be known in a few places--here, on Instagram and on Twitter, mostly--over the last couple of days that I recently acquired the sparkly, purple PSP (PSP-3000, to be exact) showcased in the photos throughout this post.

You'll notice I've never said that I recently "bought" the PSP in question. That's because I didn't buy it. Instead, someone bought it for me.

That someone is Jess, the proprietor of the Kiblitzing blog.

Jess' primary reason for buying me this purple PSP, as far as I can tell, is that he loves his own PSP-3000 so much that he wanted me to experience its wondrousness, too. (My other PSP is of the 1000 variety.)

A second reason, though, is that he's sick of me focusing so much on the 3DS, DS and GameBoy.

The funny thing is, I was just about to start publishing more blog posts about other systems--like mobile (if that can be called a "system") and the Vita--anyway, but I can't say the PSP was among them. So, the fact that this surprise (and surprisingly nice) purchase prompted me to dig through my collection of PSP games again should make Jess feel pretty good.

As for what I think of this third iteration of Sony's PSP hardware, well, the first thing that stood out for me was how much lighter it is than the original system.

Other aspects of the PSP-3000's design are only subtly different from those found on the old PSP-1000. For instance, the edges of the more recent system are slightly rounded, which makes holding it a less abrasive experience. Also, it appears as though the hardware is a smidge smaller than its predecessor from pretty much every angle (length, height and depth, basically), though it's possible my eyes are deceiving me here.

Upon turning on the system, even more changes are evident. A case in point: the 3000's screen is brighter, crisper and more colorful than the one used in the 1000.

I'd previously avoided this "redesign" because of complaints about its "annoying scanlines." Now, maybe my eyesight is worse than I thought it was (this wouldn't surprise me in the least), but I'm not sure I can even discern scanlines on the screen of my 3000.



Finally, I believe both the analog nub and the directional pad on the 3000 are supposed to be better, and easier to use, than the ones found on earlier PSPs, but I can't say I've noticed much, if any, of a difference here, either. That said, I've yet to use this beauty to play Patchwork Heroes, a lovely little game that could be a bit of a chore no matter how it's controlled, so maybe that will give me a better idea as to whether or not the 3000 has improved on this aspect, too.

In the meantime, I'm going to go through a bunch of my long-ignored UMDs and see if this grape-hued console can breathe new life into them. (I have absolutely no doubt it'll be able to accomplish that feat, by the way.)

See also: 'In case you haven't heard elsewhere, I'm now on Instagram!'

I also got this adorable 'Pupupu Friends' 3DS XL pouch for Christmas

So, the copy of Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley I chatted about yesterday isn't the only game-related present I received this holiday season. I also got the following 3DS case from my sneaky sister-in-law.

I'm calling her sneaky, by the way, because she figured out I wanted it by reading the "All I want for Christmas is..." post I published a few weeks back. (I honestly didn't realize until Wednesday that she occasionally checks out my blog.)



Anyway, this Kirby-themed case is pretty sweet, don't you think? And not only is its exterior the definition of adorable, but its interior is nicely cushioned and includes a couple of pockets for DS or 3DS carts.

Even better than either of those attributes, though, is that it perfectly complements my pink-and-white 3DS XL system--as should be evident for all to see in the photo below.



Now I just have to find a case or pouch that can be used to protect and carry my gold Pokémon Center 3DS LL. I've been considering this cute Monster Hunter airu one for ages now. What do you think?

Also, what kind of gaming-related gifts did all of you get this holiday season? Spill the beans in the comments section below--if you're willing to share, I mean.

Santa Claus brought me a copy of Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley, and I'm going to play it despite shidoshi's warnings against it

I've been curious about Natsume's homegrown take on the ages-old Harvest Moon series since it was announced earlier this year.

There were all sorts of reasons even then to give this recently released 3DS game a pass, with the Nintendo 64-esque visuals and the fact that it was being made internally rather than by series creator Yasuhiro Wada and the folks at Marvelous being the most noteworthy.

Still, I wanted it. So, I included it on my birthday wish list--and then, when I failed to get it for my birthday (I got Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call instead), I moved it over to my Christmas wish list.

Considering it was the only game I named on said list, I really shouldn't have been surprised to find it was among the Christmas gifts my parents sent to me, but I was.

Sadly, but not shockingly, I've yet to even start The Lost Valley. That's mainly because I'm still busying myself with three of the games mentioned in my last post (Fantasy Life, Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest 3 and Woah Dave!), but I'm planning to dial back my playtime with those titles over the next few days so I can find for myself if Natsume's effort is as crappy as everyone--including my podcast mate, shidoshi--says it is, or if it has even a couple of redeemable qualities.

I'll let you know either way in my next installment of "Shall We Do It?" In the meantime, are any of you playing Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley? If so, what do you think about it?

All I want after Christmas is ...

One of my blogging buds, Minee, recently published her holiday wish list on her site, Vast Sea of Games, and then asked her readers to share theirs in its comments section. I liked the idea and thought it might be nice to do something similar here--and then I realized I'm not really asking for anything gaming-related for Christmas.

I'm sure that sounds kind of strange given my usual proclivities, but there's a good reason for it: the only people in my life who give me Christmas presents at this point are my parents, and they tend to give me (along with my brother and our spouses) small gifts and a nice amount of cash rather than larger gifts such as game systems and the like.

Will I be buying any systems or games with this impending holiday haul? Of course! In fact, I've already got my eyes on a few potential purchases, including the following:

Zoo Keeper 3D--I have a feeling I'm a member of a very small (and, let's face it, very odd) club of gamers thanks to my interest in this Japan-only 3DS title. What can I say? I love the GameBoy Advance version of the game (called Zooo, strangely enough) and also quite like the DS iteration, so I'd like to try this one, too.

Possibly one or more import-only DS games--Which ones, you ask? 7th Dragon (above) is one. Nora to Koku no Koubou: Kiri no Mori no Majo (aka Noora and the Time Studio: The Witch of the Misty Forest) is another. Oh, and Maestro! Jump in Music, too--which is a Europe-only DS release, strangely enough.

Definitely an obscure GameBoy title or two--In fact, it's extremely possible I'll forego all of the above and blow my entire wad on obscure (and mostly Japanese) GameBoy titles, like the one pictured above. That is how obsessed I am with this 24-year-old handheld at the moment.

Although there's a chance I'll spend my Christmas cash on something else--don't be too shocked if a Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket Color or PSP game enter the fray, for example--the best bet is that you'll see a few posts focused on one or more of the above once the holidays are over.

Now that I've had my say, what gaming-related presents are all of you hoping to receive from your loved ones (or, like me, buy for yourself) this gift-giving season?

Happy birthday to me :)

Sorry, no "real" post today. It's my birthday!

The day's already off to a great start, by the way, as one of the presents my parents sent me was a copy of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, a game I've been admiring at a distance for some time now.



That's the only gaming gift I'm likely to receive this year, but that's OK--I bought a few games for myself earlier this week, including (but limited to) the three Namco Gallery titles I mentioned in yesterday's post. (I also purchased a Japanese copy of Crush Roller for the Neo Geo Pocket Color, despite the fact that I have nothing to play it on at the moment.)

While I wait for them to arrive, I'll do my best to put Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate through its paces--although maybe I should finally pick up a digital copy of Culty's Monster Hunter Beginner's Guide before I jump in.

Happy birthday to me!

I know it's a bit uncouth to wish oneself a happy birthday, but don't judge me too harshly. There's a point to this, er, self-celebratory post, after all.

As for what that is: Well, it's to point out that I recently bought myself (using birthday money from my parents) one of those pink-and-white 3DS XLs I've been fawning over since the Japanese version was announced in late August.

Here are two photos of the system's rather stylish packaging:

And here's a snapshot of the system itself:

Oh, and here's how it looks when it's open and about to play a game:

Don't fret too much over that yellow-ish bottom screen, by the way; in reality, it isn't noticeable (or at least it isn't to me).

What do I think of it so far, you ask? Let's just say I have a feeling that, from now on, I'll only pick up my original 3DS when I want to play it while I'm out on the town. In every other situation, though, I'll be reaching for the beauty you see in the photos above.

1oddgent's Boo, Kirby and Tron stickers

In an effort to thank me for mentioning him and his art on this blog on a few occasions, artist Dan Taub (aka 1oddgent) recently sent me a pack of stickers featuring some of his awesome creations.

The subject of leftmost sticker in the image below isn't a character from a video game, although I could see him being one. (He'd seem especially at home in a brain-training or puzzle game, don't you think?) The subjects of the remaining two stickers, on the other hand, should be instantly recognizable--despite their somewhat abstract redesigns.

For those of you who are scratching your heads: Boo from the Super Mario Bros. series is the subject of the sticker in the upper-right corner of the image above, while Kirby is the focus of the bottom-most sticker.

Taub also sent me the Tron-inspired sticker seen below. I especially like the pink "1UP" that's stamped on the gal's/guy's/thing's helmet.

All of the stickers above have been printed on white vinyl sticker paper and are about three inches square. Well, except for the Tron-inspired one, which is about three-and-a-half inches by four-and-a-half inches.

If you know a surface that's just begging to be plastered with a bunch of awesome stickers, hop on over to the 1oddgent etsy shop and pick up a pack or two (or three).

See also: 'Boo-tiful, just boo-tiful' and 'I love air, too, Susumu Hori'

Nothing gets between me and my Rhythm Heaven Fever t-shirt

Blogger--and occasional commenter on The Gay Gamer--Mark Ayala was lucky enough to attend the Rhythm Heaven Fever launch party held in Los Angeles exactly a month ago.

While at said event, Ayala picked up a Rhythm Heaven Fever t-shirt for yours truly. Although he passed it off to the able men and women of the United States Postal Service the very next day, and it arrived on my doorstep just a few days after that, I wasn't able to take a photo of it or write about it until yesterday.

Sadly, it's still winter here in Seattle, and most of you likely know what that means: It's dark and rainy here most of the time, which means pulling off well-lit photos often is a hit-or-miss affair.

If you'd like to take a closer look at the adorable design that's splashed across the chest of the t-shirt above--and features a monkey, a rocket and a jumping ... something or other--check out this Bitmob article about the Rhythm Heaven Fever soiree.

Additional proof that Kimimi (of Kimimi's Blog) is an awesome chick

Everybody who has been to Kimimi's Blog--and that's all of you, right?--knows that said blog's proprietress is an awesome chick.

(I apologize if the word "chick" offends any of you, by the way. I'm only using it here because I called Darwin Yamamoto a "dude" in this similarly-themed post. As such, I thought it would be only fitting to describe Kimimi as a "chick" in this one.)

Well, I recently discovered that Kimimi is even more awesome than I originally imagined. You see, after chatting with her--in the comments section of this blog post--about Sega's Sakura Taisen (aka Sakura Wars) series, Kimimi offered to send me her spare copy of the Saturn version of the series' first title.

Sakura Taisen's beautiful box art.

After hemming and hawing for a bit, I took her up on her generous offer--despite the fact that I don't currently own a Saturn. (Full disclosure: I've owned two in my lifetime, the first of which was bought and sold while I was a teen and the second of which was bought and sold about five years ago.)

I know I could play the game using an emulator like SSF, but I'd prefer to play it on the real thing. So, I'm going to do my best to keep from playing it until I pick up another Saturn (and a copy of the awesome-tacular Saturn Bomberman).

In the meantime, I'd also like to extend a hearty "thank you" to the folks at Aksys Games and Dudedle Studio, who recently sent me review copies of Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom and Sugar Shooter 2, respectively. Expect to see "somewhat gay" reviews of both titles shortly.

Additional proof that Darwin Yamamoto is a pretty awesome dude

Remember how, in this post, I mentioned the photos that Darwin Yamamoto took of Tokyo's famous retro-games shop, Super Potato, during his recent trip to Japan?

Well, unbeknownst to me, Yamamoto used some of his hard-earned cash to buy me a game during one of his jaunts to the above-mentioned store.

Which one, you ask? Why, the first Dragon Quest game for the Famicom!

I've yet to free the cart from its tightly secured wrapping (I'm not sure why, but I want to leave it in this condition until I'm ready to play it), so please forgive the price tag and tape that can be seen in the following photos.

I've long desired a copy of this Enix-published RPG, by the way, and not just because I have fond memories of playing through the North American version with my brother as a kid. Another just-as-important reason for my Dragon Quest-focused lust: I absolutely adore the art that graces the cover of the Japanese release. (Here's a better look at said art, for those of you who are curious.)

Anyway, as you can see in the photos above, this particular cart is in pretty great shape. One thing I really like about it is that a previous owner made note of something on the cartridge's back label. I don't suppose any of you who know Japanese would be able to tell me what it says?

Oh, I almost forgot: Along with the copy of Dragon Quest, Yamamoto also sent me a rather slick pamphlet that details all of the wonderful games that are scheduled to be released (in Japan, of course) for the 3DS during the first three months of 2012.

I'm guessing all of the information contained within said booklet can be found elsewhere on the Internet, but I may scan it and post it here later this week or next anyway--just in case any of you are interested in it.

See also: 'Ain't nothin' like a stroll through Super Potato'

What gaming-related gifts did you get?

With Christmas and the rest of the season's gift-giving holidays now behind us (or nearly behind us, since Kwanzaa just started) what gaming-related presents did all of you get?

I received just two gaming-related gifts this year, but one of them was a doozy: A "flame red" 3DS. (The other was a copy of Super Mario 3D Land. Read about it and the 3DS in yesterday's final "12 Games of Christmas" post.) You can bet I'll be spending some quality time with both of them today as the hubs and I fly back to Seattle.

I'll share all of my 3DS details--mainly my friend code, or whatever Nintendo's calling it this time around--shortly after we get home.

In the meantime, tell me in the comments section below what gaming-related gifts, if any, you received from your loved ones!

What's on your holiday wish list?

With Thanksgiving in the rear-view mirror, it's time to look forward to all of the gift-giving and gift-receiving holidays that dot the December page on the calendar like so many pieces of candy on a gingerbread house.

Speaking of gifts, what gaming-related ones are you hoping to receive from the fat man in the red suit (or whoever presides over your winter holiday of choice) this season?

Surprisingly, my wish list contains just one item at the moment: A 3DS.



A red 3DS like the one above, in particular. I know I've spent a lot of time whining here and on Twitter about wanting a pink one--and only a pink one--but it's now quite clear that the pink 3DS that's already available in Europe and Japan isn't going to be released in North America anytime soon and, frankly, my desire to obtain a 3DS, any 3DS, by the end of 2011 currently outweighs my desire to own a pink 3DS at some future point in time.

Anyway, the point of this post wasn't to share my holiday wish list; it was to ask about all of yours. So, have at it!

A pixelated present

My sister-in-law, Jan Schowengerdt, made me and my husband (her brother, duh) the following painting--which she calls "Digital Cherries," appropriately enough--for Christmas:

At first I thought she had pulled a sprite from Mickey Mousecapade, à la Ashley Anderson, but it seems that's not the case. Rather, she found an image of two cherries on line, altered it, pixelated it and then used it as a reference while she recreated it (using acrylic paint) on a pencil-drawn grid.

Anyway, isn't it cool? We're going to hang it in our kitchen as soon as my husband can get around to it. (He's handy like that.)

Go here (and here) for a clearer and closer look at these "Digital Cherries."

All my mom wants for Christmas is a Wii game

So, my mom just told me that she wants a Wii game for Christmas.

All she has at the moment are Wii Sports and Wii Fit. As far as I can tell, she likes both games, so she'd probably enjoy Wii Sports Resort--or one of the Wii Fit clones. Have any of you had any experience with The Biggest Loser, EA Sports Active or Your Shape and, if so, would you recommend them to an aging lady who enjoys a bit of exercise?

Note: The people in the photo above aren't my dad or my mom.

Two other possibilities, in my mind, are Just Dance or Just Dance 2, since my mom loves to shake her tail feather. Have any of you played and enjoyed either of those titles?

Finally, she likes puzzle games. She loved Tetris DS more than life itself, so Tetris Party Deluxe is a definite option--if it's any good.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! (Also, if you haven't experienced any of the above-mentioned games, feel free to name others that you think a 60-year-old woman might enjoy.)