It's that time of month again...

No, it's not that time of month, silly; it's the time of the month where I obsess over a game--or, more likely, a system--I wish I owned.

Which piece of gaming equipment is the object of my obsession this month? The PC Engine.

Sadly, this isn't the first time I've spent an unhealthy amount of time thinking about NEC's little white wonder; in fact, I've  done it a number of times since I first became aware of the pocket-sized system in the late 1980s.

This is one of the best photos of a PC Engine I could find on line.

How exactly am I obsessing about the PC Engine? Oh, reading reviews of its games (TheBrothersDuomazov.com is current fave), searching for images of the system and its games on Flickr--that kind of (bat-shit crazy) thing.

Ironically, I bought a PC Engine CoreGrafx II and a slew of games on eBay a few years ago--only to turn around and sell the whole shebang when my husband and I moved to Seattle. It's just as well, I guess, since I've always preferred--and, as a result, wanted--the alabaster original.

See also: 'I hereby declare March 15 Hug Your PC Engine (or TurboGrafx-16) Day'

I hereby declare March 15 'Hug Your PC Engine (or TurboGrafx-16) Day'

If you don't have a PC Engine or TurboGrafx-16, you can participate by hugging your Wii--after you purchase, say, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, which hit the Virtual Console service this morning.

You'll have to hand over 900 Nintendo points ($9) before you can download the Toru Hagihara-designed title, but if you're any sort of Castlevania fan I think you'll find it's well worth the premium price.

PS3 owners with Japanese PSN accounts can get in on the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 love, too--though they can't (yet) buy Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.

In fact, the "Game Archives" section of Sony's download service currently contains just 15 cartridge-based PC Engine titles at this point. (It'll get its first CD game--the guitar-laden Gate of Thunder--on Wednesday, according to andriasang.com.)

See also: 'Better late than never: 'The best Castlevania ever' is coming to the States'

Better late than never: 'The best Castlevania ever' is coming to the States

OK, I know Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (aka Akumajō Dracula X Chi no Rondo, aka "the best Castlevania ever") made it out of Japan and into Australia, Europe and the States in late 2007 as part of Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles.

That doesn't mean squat to all of us who don't have a PSP, though--or those of use who want to play the original version of Rondo of Blood on a big, as opposed to little, screen.

All of those folks finally have reason to applaud--or at least break into a huge, toothy grin: The Entertainment Software Rating Board has officially rated Rondo of Blood for release in the States.

Now, there's no saying when the game will be added to the U.S. version of the Wii Virtual Console, but hopefully it'll happen sooner rather than later--especially considering it was added to the Wii Virtual Console in Japan all the way back in April 2008.

Let's hear it for the Bonk

1UP's Bob Mackey just posted a great little write-up dedicated to one of my favorite gaming mascots: Bonk.

In the post, Mackey writes, "what made the Bonk series so appealing to me originally was its colorfulness... [It] had this vibe of vibrant cartooniness you really couldn't find in many other console games. In comparison, Mario and Sonic were downright warm and gentle in their fluffy, pastel-colored worlds--Bonk's bold colors and endearingly ugly characters had more in common with something out of The Simpsons than the relative lushness of Nintendo and Sega's offerings."

I wholeheartedly agree. Don't get me wrong, I love me some Mario--Sonic, not so much--but Bonk brought something different to the table when his first game was released back in the early 90s, and whatever that something was I ate up like it was a hot fudge sundae.

Sadly, the series seemed to lose steam after Bonk's Revenge. (In my humble opinion, of course.) Bonk 3 just wasn't as compelling as its predecessors, and the Super Bonk games released on the Super Famicom/SNES lacked a certain spirit as well.

I doubt that trend will be broken by the upcoming PSN/XBLA/WiiWare sequel, Bonk: Brink of Extinction, but I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt until I actually spend some quality time with it.

Thankfully, even if it's a stinker I'll still have my memories--and the copies of Bonk's Adventure and Bonk's Revenge that I bought through the Wii Shop Channel :)

Five favorites: cutie patootie puzzlers

Back in the day, I played games for hours on end--and preferred RPGs to every other genre. These days I prefer platformers and puzzle games, as I just don't have the attention span to play games for more than a few minutes at a time.

Here are five of the puzzlers I turn to whenever I *do* have some time on my hands. They're all a bit on the cute side (hence the use of "cutie patootie" in the headline above), but don't let that keep you from giving them a spin.

1. Guru Logi Champ (GameBoy Advance)--Now-defunct Japanese developer/publisher Compile's main claim to fame may have been its uber-popular (and uber-playable) Puyo Puyo titles, but I prefer Guru Logi Champ thanks to its Magical-Drop-meets-Picross gameplay.

2. Magical Puzzle Popils (GameGear)--All you really need to know about this title is that it was designed by the legendary Fukio Mitsuji--aka the brainchild behind Bubble Bobble. Both games are maddeningly addictive, but Magical Puzzle Popils ups the ante by making your brain hurt, too.

3. Motteke Tamago (PC-Engine)--Don't worry if the name doesn't ring a bell--it probably doesn't ring a bell for many Japanese gamers either. After all, this Bomberman-esque brain twister wasn't released until 1997--and even then it was just a pack-in with Super PC-Engine Fan Deluxe magazine.

4. Panel de Pon (Super Famicom)--This game has been released under many different guises in the States--Tetris Attack, Pokemon Puzzle League and Planet Puzzle League among them--but none of them can hold a candle to the charm on display in the Japanese original.

5. Twinbee Taisen Puzzle Dama (PSone)--Many versions of Taisen Puzzle Dama have been released over the years, and although all of them are extremely enjoyable this one takes the proverbial cake (IMHO, of course) thanks to the inclusion of Konami's cute-as-buttons Twinbee characters.

* Please forgive me for using the term "cutie patootie." I couldn't help myself in this instance, but I'll do my best to avoid using it in the future :)

The 10 tennis games you should be playing when you're not watching the US Open

I've played tennis since I was a youngster, so it should be no surprise to hear that I've always loved virtual versions of the sport.

Honestly, I think I've played nearly every tennis game that's been released since the early days of the NES. The only exceptions I can think of are the Smash Court games that were released for the PS2, the Top Spin games that have been released for practically every system under the sun and all of the Virtua Tennis games released after the first sequel.

As such, I thought it might be fun to come up with a list of my favorite tennis games--especially since the US Open is in full swing. (Go Rafa and Dementieva!) Here they are, in no particular order (though I have arranged them according to when they were released):

1. World Court Tennis (PC-Engine/TurboGrafx-16, 1989) - A launch title for the TurboGrafx-16, if I'm not mistaken, World Court Tennis deserves a spot on this list simply because it was the first (and last?) tennis game to include an RPG mode.

2. Final Match Tennis (PC-Engine, 1991) - World Court Tennis may be unique, but in truth it isn't a very good game. Final Match Tennis, on the other hand, is a *great* game. It's as pick-up-and-play as you can get (each player has just two shots; typically a flat shot and a slice or a flat and a topspin shot) and it's fast--faster than any other title on this list, in fact. Check it out if you like arcade-style sports games.

3. Super Tennis (SNES, 1991) - If someone forced me to select one of the titles on this list as the *best* tennis game ever, I'd probably have to go with Super Tennis. No other tennis game, in my humble opinion, has been able to match its silky smooth controls--with the possible exception of the eminently playable Wii Sports.

4. Top Rank Tennis (GameBoy, 1993) - If I'm remembering correctly, this tennis game was the first (that I played) that allowed me to create my own player and then take that player to the top of the rankings (hence the title). That alone means it'll always have a special place in my heart.

5. Wimbledon Championship Tennis (Genesis, 1993) - Truth be told, I'm not sure Wimbledon Championship Tennis belongs on this list. I wanted to include a Genesis game, though, and Jennifer Capriati Tennis was an absolute stinker, so I had no choice but to include this solid, but unspectacular, title.

6. Ace wo Nerae/Aim for the Ace (Super Famicom, 1993) -You know how I said Super Tennis might be the best tennis game ever? Well, Aim for the Ace might be the second best. The only thing keeping it from the top spot is the possibly-seizure-inducing pseudo-3D effect that follows the player around the court.

7. Mario Tennis (GameBoy Color, 2001) - Call me crazy, but I prefer this title to Mario Tennis: Power Tour, released for the GameBoy Advance in 2005. Both titles share a lot of similarities - including an RPG-ish training mode - but I think this one is the more charming of the two.

8. Virtua Tennis 2 (Dreamcast/PS2, 2001/2002) -Virtua Tennis 2 is a lot like a 3D version of Final Match Tennis, mentioned above. It sets itself apart from that and other arcade-y tennis titles, though, by including amazingly deep create-a-player and world-tour modes.

9. Mario Power Tennis (GameCube, 2004) - I decided to include this title instead of Camelot's earlier effort, Mario Tennis 64 (released for the Nintendo 64 in 2000), because, well, this one is better in every way. I know some players hate that you can't turn off the "power shots" (or at least their animations), but they've never bothered me.

10. Grand Slam Tennis (Wii, 2009) - I know what you're thinking: "How can he include this game on the list and not Wii Sports?" My response: Well, as much as I love Wii Sports' tennis, Grand Slam Tennis plays just as well while adding a multitude of other options--including online match-ups.