A new Famicom game is coming and it's called Kira Kira Star Night DX

Who could've imagined we'd see new Famicom cartridges be produced and released 13 years after Nintendo officially discontinued its first real console?

I certainly didn't see such a thing coming, and yet here we are--thanks to a company known as Columbus Circle.

Actually, some of you've probably heard of Columbus Circle, or at least you may know one of its previous products: the 8bit Music Power Famicom cart.

I didn't buy that offering, but I'm seriously contemplating picking up the publisher's next one, which appears to be some sort of score-attack action-platformer.



This despite the fact that Kira Kira Star Night DX is far from the prettiest Famicom game I've ever seen. I like its color palette and its use of parallax scrolling, though, and Yuzo Koshiro had a hand in creating its soundtrack, so I still think its worth considering.

If you feel similarly, you might want to keep these details in mind: physical copies of Kira Kira Star Night DX are set to hit the streets in late July and when they do they'll cost 5,378 yen (about $50) each.

No word yet on where you'll be able to purchase these suckers, but I have a feeling amiami.com will be one option.

(Via japanesenintendo.com)

Fabulous flash game alert: /Escape\

I did a lot of fun things this past weekend: I baked, played tennis, read a bit of Seth Grahame-Smith's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and wrote a number of posts for this blog.

I also spent (some would say wasted) a good chunk of time playing /ESCAPE\, a Flash game that was created--in 72 hours, no less--by Ian Brock (graphics), Josh Schonstal (programming) and Guerin McMurry (music) for Ludum Dare 21 and that's now playable at kongregate.com.

For those of you who need to know a bit of information about a game, even free ones like /ESCAPE\, before giving it a go: It's a score-attack title that tasks players with wall-jumping again and again and again in an attempt to avoid being impaled by spikes and singed by an ever-advancing laser beam.

One of the best parts of /ESCAPE\, in my opinion: It requires the use of just one keyboard button. (What can I say? I'm lazy.)

Oh, and in case any of your are curious: My high score so far is 258.