If you own a 3DS, you need to buy and play Pocket Card Jockey right now

And if you don't own a 3DS, you need to get one as soon as possible and then use it to play Pocket Card Jockey.

I know everyone's moved on to the Switch. So have I, for the most part. I also know this game hit the North American, European, and Australian 3DS eShop eons ago--in May 2016, to be exact. (It hit the Japanese 3DS eShop all the way back in July 2013.)

Given all of the above, I understand why Pocket Card Jockey isn't exactly trending on Twitter right now. The thing is, I doubt Pocket Card Jockey ever trended on Twitter, or lit up the sales charts--even when it first came out and garnered a good amount of praise.

So why am I writing about it now, more than two years after it made a splash (or maybe I should say plop, given the lack of hype surrounding its launch)? And why am I using yet another blog post to push people to give the game a try? Because I started playing it again last weekend while visiting my husband's family in Ohio and it reminded me of Pocket Card Jockey's brilliance.

I'd intended to play something else (Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux, for the curious), but when I finally opened my trusty "flame red" 3DS I returned to my long-ignored Pocket Card Jockey save file instead.

At first, I stuck with the game's "training" mode, which basically allows you to play quick rounds of golf solitaire. Within a few hours, though, I cautiously moved over to the main mode. I didn't fare too well early on, to be honest, but a quick look at the "How to Succeed in Pocket Card Jockey Without Really Trying" guide I published a couple of years ago turned things around pretty quickly.

I'm currently 20 hours into my latest obsessive stint with Pocket Card Jockey. The first such stint began in 2013 immediately after the Japanese version's release and lasted for more than 60 hours. The second started in 2016 following the North American version's release and lasted an additional 60-plus hours.

In other words, I've now devoted somewhere north of 140 hours to this $6.99 game over the course of five years.

What's the pull for me? The main attraction (or maybe I should say mane attraction?) is that it's a whole lot of fun. For some reason, I find the combination of solitaire, horse racing, adorable graphics, a top-tier soundtrack, and surprisingly intriguing--and at times shockingly dark--interactions with the game's curious cast of characters to be a winning one.

And then, of course, there's the fact that this Game Freak-developed title is beyond addictive. You know how it's impossible to walk away from Tetris until you've completed about 100 levels? Well, Pocket Card Jockey is imbued with a similar quality. But instead of telling yourself, "just one more round," you're more likely to mutter, "just one more horse"--as it's entirely possible to take a steed from colt or filly to retirement in an hour or so.

Still not convinced to give this hidden gem a try? Maybe my Pocket Card Jockey review will do the trick. Or the fact that I declared it to be my favorite game of 2016 might sway you.

Whatever you need to do to convince yourself to buy Pocket Card Jockey, do it. And do it now. You never know when Nintendo's going to pull the plug on the 3DS eShop, and believe me when I say you don't want to go through life without experiencing this delightfully odd game.

Drop whatever you're doing and download the Pocket Card Jockey 3DS demo now

When a little game called Solitiba hit the Japanese 3DS eShop back in July of 2013, I snapped it up as soon as I could.

I did that for a few reasons. One, I knew the title had been made by the folks at Game Freak—best known, of course, for the world-conquering Pokémon series. Two, it had previously made headlines for attempting to combine two disparate genres: horse racing and puzzlers (solitaire, specifically).

Add to that Solitiba’s undeniably adorable art style and, well, you’ve basically got a game that’s “right up my alley,” as that stale old saying goes.

How far up my alley is it? Well, I’ve since put more than 60 hours into it so far, if that tells you anything.

On a related note, I've already put about three hours into the demo of Solitiba's North American localization--which is known as Pocket Card Jockey in this neck of the woods. (Actually, I believe that's the name it goes by in every region outside of Japan.)

Which means, of course, that I'm enjoying the English version of the game quite a bit. OK, I'm enjoying it a lot.

It's not perfect, mind you. A case in point: the text seems a bit stilted at times, as if the people who worked on that aspect of the game hewed more closely to the original script than maybe they should have done.

Granted, the powers that be at Nintendo probably didn't want to devote tons of time, money or energy to this project, and its localization team was tasked with translating a ton of text, so I won't be too tough on anyone for that slight miscue.

At any rate, I highly recommend downloading the Pocket Card Jockey 3DS demo as soon as you're able. And after you've played it for a while, come back here and tell me what you think of it. (Also, if you need advice, just ask. I'm more than happy to help.)

See also: 'Five reasons it's a shame Game Freak hasn't yet released its quirky 3DS eShop title, Solitiba, outside of Japan'

Come join me in the Rainbow Games community

I know it may not be all that wise for me to push people in the direction of a "competing" website, especially when I'd love for those same folks to start and participate in all kinds of interesting discussions right here, but the fact is that my blog is only ever going to attract and retain a certain percentage of the gaming population.

So, if you don't quite get your fill of retro, niche or Japanese games on this particular blog, or if you're just looking for another online outlet for your Japanese, niche or retro gaming obsessions and thoughts, you may want to head over to rainbowgames.dreamwidth.org, which bills itself as "a community geared toward niche and retro game discussion and celebration," and set up an account.

You'll find me there using the handle "thegaygamer," of course. If you follow suit and start using the community, too, let me know here or via some sort of direct message sent through the dreamwidth site what your username is so I can properly connect with you there.

On a related note, if there are any additional blogs, communities or other sites out there that also focus on retro, niche or Japanese games that you think I might enjoy checking out, please let me know about them in the comments section of this post.

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears ... as well as your Vita game recommendations

If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you've already heard this thrilling piece of news: I recently bought a Vita!

Actually, I bought it quite some time ago, but it took its sweet time getting to me. Plus, after it finally arrived in my neighborhood, it had to sit at the local "carrier annex" for a full week before I was able to come rescue it. (Which is what happens, I guess, when you go from being a full-time freelancer to having a full-time office job and thus no longer have the luxury of pretty much always being home when such packages arrive.)



Sadly, I haven't been able to do much more than charge its battery, start it up, set it up, download a couple of PSP games from my PSN account (Patchwork Heroes being one of them) and connect with a few pals between last weekend and today.

I'm planning to spend a lot more time with it late next week and the following weekend, though--right after I wrap up the class I mentioned in yesterday's post about my Solitiba and Katamari Damacy doodles, basically. 

As for what I'll be playing once I finally give my Vita the attention it deserves: well, I'll probably begin with Danganronpa, although it's possible I'll also download and play a bit of Magical Beat, Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines or Pix the Cat.

Given that my gaming wish list is sorely lacking in Vita titles at the moment (it includes the ones I just mentioned, of course, as well as a handful of others), I thought I'd ask all of you who also have Sony's PSP follow-up to share with me any recommendations you may have for a Vita noob like myself. 

Should any must-play Vita games come to mind in the next few hours, days or even weeks, please share their names in the comments section of this post.

Please share your iOS game and app suggestions and recommendations here

In news that is sure to thrill my pal Simon, the oh-so-British proprietor of the Red Parsley blog, I recently bought my first smartphone.

Specifically, I got an iPhone.

Which means, of course, that I'm in the market for a whole bunch of iOS games and apps.



Have any of you played any iOS games or used any iOS apps that you think I should experience as soon as possible? If so, I'd really appreciate it if you'd name them--and tell me why you like them, if you're willing--in the comments section below.

Just so you know, I've already purchased the following: Drop Wizard, rainblocks and Sunburn!

I spent a few minutes with both Drop Wizard and rainblocks over the weekend, and I found the former game, especially, to be a lot of fun. (I also liked the latter, but I'm not sure it's something I'll return to all that often.)

Recommend me some Taito-made Famicom, PC Engine and GameBoy titles

You may have noticed--you know, by reading this recent post, as well as this one and this one--that I'm on a bit of a Taito kick as of late.

Granted, I've been interested in this now basically defunct developer and publisher--and its output, of course--since I first came across a Bubble Bobble cabinet in the arcade that was tucked into the corner of my hometown's bowling alley as a teen, but recently I become even more of a Taito fan.

There's no particular reason I can point to for this increase of affection--other than I've played and written about a bunch of Taito-made games (Bubble Bobble, Don Doko Don, Insector X and Rainbow Islands among them) in the last week or two, I mean.

Anyway, as a result, I'd really like to delve even deeper into this Tokyo-based company's catalog. The thing is, though, I've already spent time with a good number of the games it released for my current favorite systems, the Famicom (NES), PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16) and GameBoy.

Specifically, for the Famicom I've played: Bubble Bobble, Bubble Bobble 2, Chuka Taisen, Don Doko Don, Don Doko Don 2, Elevator Action, Insector X, Rainbow Islands and Wanpaku Kokkun no Gourmet World (aka Panic Restaurant in the West).

When it comes to the company's PC Engine titles, I've played: Darius Plus, Don Doko Don, Gokuraku Chuka Taisen, Hana Taka Daka!?, Jigoku Meguri, Kiki Kaikai, Mizubaku Daibouken, The New Zealand Story, Parasol Stars and Rainbow Islands.

Finally, I've played two Taito-made GameBoy carts thus far, with the pair in question being Bubble Bobble and Bobble Bobble Junior.

Should any of you have any Taito-focused recommendations--especially for the aforementioned systems--to share, I'd love to hear them.

To help get you started, here are a handful of the company's games I've been curious about for some time but have yet to experience: Cadash (PC Engine), JuJu Densetsu (Famicom), Power Blazer (Famicom), Sagaia (GameBoy) and Taito Chase H.Q. (PC Engine).

Recommend me some GameBoy RPGs

My recent obsession with Final Fantasy Adventure--and the memories that game conjured up of my past obsessions with the first two Final Fantasy Legend titles--has me itching to check out a few other quality GameBoy RPGs.

The problem is, I don't know of many. In fact, the only ones coming to mind at the moment are the following:

* Dragon Quest I, II and III
* Dragon Quest Monsters I and II
* Final Fantasy Adventure
* Final Fantasy Legend I, II and III
* For the Frog the Bell Tolls (aka Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru)
* The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
* The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons
* Pokemon Blue, Green, Red and Yellow

Am I missing any that you think would be worth a look?

I'm primarily interested in RPGs that were made for the original GameBoy as opposed to the GameBoy Color, by the way--despite the fact that a couple of the ones mentioned in my bullet-pointed list were GBC releases.

Oh, and feel free to name Japanese RPGs that weren't translated into English--as long as you're sure they're top-notch examples of the genre.

Five XBLIG games you should have played, but probably didn't

To those of you wondering why I'm not including retail or even XBLA releases in this post: I'm not including the former because I have just one such game (Deadly Premonition) and I'm not including the latter because pretty much all of the XBLA titles I've purchased thus far are high-profile ones, and I'm trying to focus on under-appreciated releases in this series of posts. (Here's one that focuses on DS games you should have played, but probably didn't, and here's one that focuses on Wii games.)

1. Arkedo Series: 03 Pixel!--Can a more charming platformer be found via the XBLIG service? If so, I've yet to come across it. Even if one were to present itself to me, it wouldn't cause me to change my mind about the fact that Arkedo Series: 03 Pixel! is more charming than it has any right to be. How else would you describe a run-and-jump title that puts you in the, er, paws of a big-headed cat who has to--you guessed it--run and jump his way though a bunch of beautifully rendered (in blue and white) stages while avoiding assorted baddies. Admittedly, Pixel! won't win any awards for uniqueness (although it incorporates occasional mini-games in a rather clever manner), nor will it win any awards for length or difficulty, but who really cares when the overall experience is this tight, simple and fun?

2. Escape Goat--If you're looking to pick up a great puzzler-platformer via XBLIG, Escape Goat is your game. Why? It looks like a Genesis game--a good one, mind you--for starters. (It kind of sounds like one, too, now that I'm thinking of it.) I can't say it plays like one because, well, I don't believe I ever played a puzzler-platformer on Sega's 16-bit system. Regardless, this one is a joy to play. In part that's because controlling the main character--the titular goat--feels great, which makes traversing the game's many obstacles (it is a puzzler, after all) a snap, and in part it's because everything--the gameplay, graphics and music--comes together to produce a most captivating experience.

One-death wonder

If you've been enjoying the reviews I've posted as part of "The Great Gaymathon" thus far, you may want to check out The Game Dungeon when you've got a free minute or two (or 20, if you're like me).

Like me, blogger Marcus Estrada is trying to play all of the games in his sizable collection (many of which he's yet to try). He doesn't play them to completion, though; rather, he plays them until he reaches a "game over" screen for the first time.

If Estrada likes what he experiences up to that point, he makes note of it--on his above-mentioned blog--so he can come back to the game in question at a later date.

Although The Game Dungeon has been on line for just a few days, it already features reviews of 17 games--some of which will be played again, and some of which will soon be relegated to the back of Estrada's closet.

Pixelated (or polygonal) apocalypses?

Here's something you probably couldn't have guessed about me: I'm a big fan of apocalypse novels. I just finished reading one, in fact: Susan Beth Pfeffer's This World We Live In.

The completion of that novel got me to thinking: Why haven't I played any post-apocalyptic games? The answer, sadly enough, is that I've never thought of it.

Even if I had, though, I wouldn't know where to start. After all, the only post-apocalyptic game I'm aware of is Namco's Fragile (aka Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon, below), a Wii game I have every intention of picking up at some point.



Other than that game, though, I'm stumped.

Have any of you played any worthwhile post-apocalyptic games--especially RPGs--over the years? If so, which ones?

'As recommended by The Gay Gamer'

Just about a week ago, in the comments section of this post, Zigfried over at unlimitedzigworks.com challenged me to come up with a "somewhat obscure" Famicom game that he could play and then review on his site shortly after the start of the year.

Being the indecisive chap that I am, I came up with not one but eight obscure-ish Famicom games for Zigfried to consider.

Among the games I suggested: (Sony) Epic's Flying Hero, a Breakout-like single-screener that replaces the latter title's ball and paddle with a trio of firemen (two of whom wield a trampoline, with the third using it to bounce around the screen and rescue stranded civilians).

Anyway, go here to read Zigfried's impressions of this archaic-but-charmingly-quirky (my words, not his) game. Oh, and go here to see the titular "flying heroes" in action.