And here I thought this morning's
Japanese Nintendo Direct was going to be a dud.
Instead, it ended with me adding a bunch of items--not just games, but systems and even accessories, too--to my ever-growing 3DS wish list.
Admittedly, a couple of the aforementioned titles that are going to be picked up as soon as is possible--which means the minute they're released--were announced prior to today's broadcast, but I wasn't sure about either of them until I saw them in action or saw their box art.
The 3DS port (of sorts) of
Dragon Quest VIII is the game that I had to see in action before deciding to purchase it, by the way.
Speaking of which, its first trailer can be seen at the beginning of the
Nintendo Direct. I don't know about you, but I think it looks pretty wonderful. Even if it didn't, though, I'd probably buy a copy of it just so I could experience the "pudding slime" spotted at the 2:07 mark firsthand.
Dragon Quest VIII will hit store shelves in Japan on Aug. 27. Here's hoping it somehow makes its way westward, too.
As for the 3DS game that I want to own now that I've seen its box art, that would be
Doubutsu no Mori: Happy Home Designer.
Seriously, look at the packaging above and try to tell me it isn't fabulous beyond belief.
Actually, scratch that. This
Animal Crossing spin-off's cover art is just fabulous when compared to the special New 3DS LL system (above) that's set to be released alongside it.
Even more fabulous, in my humble opinion, is the
Happy Home Designer-branded kisekae plate that also will hit the streets of Japan on July 30.
You can rest assured I'll pre-order the latter as soon as someone allows me to do so--despite the fact that I've yet to pick up a New 3DS system.
This latest Nintendo Direct didn't focus only on already announced 3DS games, thankfully. A handful of surprises found their way into the broadcast, too, with the side-scrolling
Guru Guru! Chibi Robo! and
Monster Hunter X being two of them.
To be honest, as happy as I am that Nintendo's giving
Chibi Robo another chance, I'm not sure I'll be purchasing this latest effort. (I'd far prefer an adventure that apes the series' original offering.)
Also, as nice as
Monster Hunter X looks, I can say with quite a bit of certainty that I won't be adding it to my collection of 3DS games.
I can say with just as much certainty, though, that I'll be buying one of the other out-of-left-field titles that were announced earlier today--with the title in question being
MonHun Nikki: Poka Poka Airu Mura DX (aka
Monster Hunter Diary: Poka Poka Airu Village DX).
After all, I've wanted to play one of the
MonHun Nikki games for ages, and I can't think of anything more appropriate than finally doing so on my Japanese 3DS.
(This kind of puts the copy of the first
MonHun Nikki for PSP I acquired a short while ago in a precarious position, I guess, but what can you do?)
What did all of you think about this morning's Nintendo Direct? Did any accessories, games or systems stick out at you as "must buys"?