Speaking of rare PC Engine hardware, what happened to this monitor?

Did you know that the folks at NEC announced both the PC Engine DUO and the PC Engine LT (the laptop-esque portable mentioned in this post) at the Tokyo Game Show in 1991? Well, they did.

At the same show, NEC also displayed a four-inch, clamshell monitor that could be attached to the aforementioned DUO to turn it into what the writers at TurboPlay magazine called "the ultimate portable machine."

In this article (from the August/September 1991 issue of TurboPlay), it's suggested that this sexy little monitor (above) had been released two years prior with a price tag of approximately $600. That assertion seems questionable to me, as that would mean it was released in 1989--the PC Engine's second year on the market.

So, I have a question for any fellow PC Engine fans out there who may come across this post: Was this monitor really released in Japan in 1989, or was it released alongside the DUO and the LT?

Regardless, it's a rather fascinating peripheral--especially given its release date--isn't it?

The Great Gaymathon Review #10: Rakugaki Showtime (PlayStation)

Game: Rakugaki Showtime

Genre: Fighting

System: PlayStation

Developer: Treasure

Publisher: Enix

Release date: 1999

On the one hand, I find this Treasure-developed (and Enix-published) title's graphics and premise delicious. On the other, I don't find its Poy Poy-esque gameplay nearly as appetizing. That's not to suggest that this extremely pricey game is bad, but it can be a bit boring--especially if it's played solo. (I've heard the multiplayer experience is much more enjoyable. Unfortunately, I've yet to play it that way.) Still, I can't help but boot it up now and then just so I can gaze at its charmingly rendered graphics--which resemble doodles that have been torn, rather haphazardly, from a child's scrapbook. That's hardly enough to earn it a hearty recommendation, though, is it--especially when you consider that used copies of this game commonly carry price tags of over $100? Given that, I'd only recommend picking it up if you're a total Treasure nut or if you're one of those freaks--or should I say lucky ducks--who regularly throws stacks of $100 bills into your fireplace to keep warm at night.

See also: Previous 'Great Gaymathon' posts

$3,600 for a sealed copy of Panic Restaurant?

I've played a lot of games the last few days. Among them: Taito's Panic Restaurant (aka Wanpaku Kokkun no Gourmet World in Japan), released for the NES in late 1992.

For those of you who have never heard of Panic Restaurant: It's a cute platformer which puts players in control of a chef named Cookie ("Naughty Kokkun" in the Japanese version) who has to make his way through a cursed restaurant. (See part of it in action here.)

Anyway, I've been playing the game using an emulator because, well, it's pretty darn expensive. Case in point: One eBay auctioneer is trying to sell a sealed copy of it for $3,599.99. (Another is selling a similarly pristine copy of the game for just $1,799.99.)

Opened copies of the game are cheaper, of course, although I'd hardly call them cheap. Loose copies, for instance, commonly command prices above $100.

The wait is over

You remember this post, right? It's the one in which I whined about waiting for my copy of Guru Logi Champ (aka the GameBoy Advance's Holy Grail).

Well, the wait is over--it arrived! Yesterday, actually. Unfortunately, I've been so busy with work the last two days that all I've done so far is snap a few photos of its outer box, cartridge and instruction manual. Here's one of them:



Isn't it pretty? The box is sweet, too.

Anyway, I probably won't be able to spend some quality time with the game until this weekend. After that, though, I'll let you know if it really is a mash-up of Picross, Puyo Puyo and Magical Drop.

The waiting game

I'm generally a pretty patient guy. When am I not patient? When it's Friday and the weekend is more than a few minutes away, when an upcoming vacation is less than a month (or two) away--and when a game (or game system) is working its way through the postal system to my welcome mat.

When it comes to that last situation, I'm usually able to keep my antsiness in check--but not this week. That's because I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of a game I've been pining for since, well, I became aware of it a few years ago.

The game: Guru Logi Champ (aka Guru Logic Champ), a Compile-crafted title that Japanmanship's JC Barnett has called "by far The Best Puzzle Game Ever Created." (Capitalization courtesy of Barnett.)

Sadly, I haven't actually played Guru Logi Champ--I've just read reviews extolling its awesomeness--so I can't tell you much about it. The person who penned the game's Wikipedia entry swears it's a crazy combination of Picross, Puyo Puyo (kind of) and Magical Drop, though, and that's enough for me.

Anyway, I'll let you know if that description is at all accurate once the darn game is safely secured in my trusty GameBoy Advance.

Watch: A wacky (of course) Japanese Guru Logi Champ advert