Nice Package! (Nangoku Shounen Papuwa-kun, GameBoy)

No one's ever going to accuse Dragon Quest publisher, Enix, of jumping on the GameBoy bandwagon.

After all, it took the company over three years to release its first GameBoy title--and even then it was a game, Dungeon Land, someone else developed.

It took another year-plus for the game highlighted in this post to see the light of day. Admittedly, Enix didn't make it either. (Bizarre factoid: Enix only ever published the two titles named here for the original GameBoy.)

So, who is responsible for the development of this appealingly unique puzzler? That would be Daft.

Don't feel bad if this is the first you're hearing of Daft. I was completely in the dark about the company before I started researching this write-up. (I always assumed Enix both developed and published this version of Nangoku Shounen Papuwa-kun.)



If you're any kind of "retro gamer," though, you've probably at least heard of one of Daft's other products, though--that being the quirky Super Famicom platformer, Hameln no Violin Hiki (aka Violinist of Hameln).

As for Nangoku Shounen Papuwa-kun, it's based on Ami Shibata's 1991 manga series of the same name. To be frank, I know nothing about said series and, as such, have no idea as to why the powers that be at Daft or Enix decided to translate the IP into a puzzle game for Nintendo's first portable game system.

What I do know: Nangoku Shounen Papuwa-kun is a fun little brain-teaser.

This is no Tetris or Puyo Puyo clone, however. In fact, I can't think of another puzzle game that plays anything like Nangoku Shounen Papuwa-kun.

Explaining how it works through words isn't an easy task, so check out this gameplay footage--or this footage--if you're curious to know more.

The good news: it only takes a few minutes of puttering around to figure out what you're supposed to do. After that, it's smooth sailing.

Another piece of good news: even people who don't know a lick of Japanese should find Nangoku Shounen Papuwa-kun both accessible and enjoyable.

With all of that out of the way, what do you think about the game's outer box, cartridge, and instruction manual, all of which are showcased throughout this post?

I especially like its colorful cover art. In fact, that's what initially drew me to the game--well, that and the Enix logo printed along its lower edge.

Have any of you played Nangoku Shounen Papuwa-kun? If so, what do you think of it? Even if you haven't played it, though, what do you think of the game's packaging?

See also: previous 'Nice Package!' posts about Bubble Ghost, Burning Paper, Noobow, Peetan, Penguin-kun Wars Vs., and Shippo de Bun

Let's celebrate the 30th anniversary of the PC Engine's launch

It's almost hard for me to believe NEC Home Electronics and Hudson Soft launched the PC Engine all the way back on Oct. 30, 1987.

I say "almost" because I have fairly vivid childhood memories of ogling photos of the diminutive console that were published in North American gaming magazines around the time of its Japanese release.

Considering it's been a good, long while since anyone's mistaken me for a kid, I'd say 30 years seems about right regarding when I first became aware of--and fell in love with--the PC Engine.

Of course, you don't have to be a decades-old fan of the PC Engine celebrate the 30th anniversary of its launch. Even those of you who are just discovering the system with this post can and should join in the fun.

After all, the PC Engine was home to some of the wackiest video games ever to see the light of day--in my humble opinion, of course. Actually, it was home to a lot of games, period. Some were amazing, some were atrocious, but most continue to be worth at least a quick look if you tend to enjoy games made with pixels rather than polygons.



Hell, I'm still becoming acquainted with the PC Engine and its vast catalog myself. For proof, see this post about the 12 HuCards (that's what the system's credit card-sized game carts are called) I've picked up this year alone.

Itching to learn more about this deliciously odd little console? Read my write-up about five overlooked PC Engine games you should play as soon as possible. And when you're done with it, head over to this follow-up--which details five more overlooked HuCards I think are well worth even a few minutes of your time.

I'd also recommend taking a look at my post about the best PC Engine game manuals I've seen (so far). And if that write-up trips your trigger, you'll probably enjoy looking through all 27 PC Engine manuals I've scanned and shared to date.

Are any of you PC Engine fans, too? If so, let the love flow in the comments section that follows.

See also: 'Seven ways you can celebrate the 27th anniversary of the PC Engine's release'