Square must be wrapping up FFXII: Revenant Wings

Here, according to various gaming sites (including the great GoNintendo.com) is the final box art for Square's Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings. The game is due out in Japan in April, with no release information available for the U.S. or anywhere else yet.

It looks fine and dandy to me. A bit plain, maybe, but it definitely fits with Square's more modern, sleek packages these days.

Hey Nintendo: I want Tingle's Balloon Fight!

OK, this is old, old news, but since I just broke the great news earlier today that Nintendo is (hopefully) releasing the Tingle RPG in the U.S. later this year, I think it's worthwhile to bring this up again.

In a few months (April, to be exact), Ninty will be making available to die-hard fans (through its Club Nintendo members) a little game called Tingle's Balloon Fight. All that has been released so far is the name, the release date and the box art. Savvy fanboys like myself, however, can pretty easily suss out that the game will be an update of the old NES classic, Balloon Fight (itself an update of the arcade hit, Joust).

Considering Nintendo's fan club is pretty much nonexistent (and that's being nice to Nintendo), and Tingle's lack of popularity on this side of the pond, I kind of doubt we'll be seeing the game at our local EB Games anytime soon.

Here's an idea for Nintendo to ponder, though: why couldn't Ninty offer the game as a free download (from their site, from their in-store kiosks or from the Wii) for those of us who plunk down our hard-earned cash on the Tingle RPG? I think that's a brilliant idea! If only the folks at Nintendo (or anyone else for that matter) actually read this blog...

Could Katamari clone take a chomp out of the DS?

I love Nintendo. I love the Wii. I love the DS.

There, just had to say that.

Oh, sure, I love plenty other systems and game companies, too, but none have ever reached the level of my beloved Ninty. There's just something about Nintendo-made games and systems that make me giggle (yes, giggle; I'm gay so I can admit that).

Anyhoo, with that out of the way, a game is coming to the DS soon that looks to make me giggle some more--though this one isn't coming from Miyamoto or anyone else at the house Mario built. It's coming from Koei, of all people (you know, the people responsible for the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Dynasty Warriors games).

The Japanese title of this Katamari close was Gabu Gabu Planet, and the U.S. version will be titled Prey the Stars. Ooohhhkaaayyyy... I don't know about you, but I like the original name better.

What really matters is how it plays, though, and here's to hoping Koei comes through in that regard. It certainly has a lot going for it--you play a dog whose goal is to gobble up everything in sight. Like the great Katamari Damacy for the PS2, your doggie can only eat small bits at the beginning, though as you progress through the stage he/she can eat bigger and bigger items--even buildings!

The pics I've seen so far remind me of both Katamari and that old PS1 game, Jumping Flash. 'll thank my lucky stars if the game approaches the greatness of either of them.

"Giraffetastic" shooter may be coming soon to XBLA

Well, color me surprised--again!. I guess I haven't been paying as much attention to the Xbox 360 as I should have been. I didn't know Jeff Minter, he of Tempest and Tempest 2000 fame, was busy creating another trippy shooter.

For those of you in the same boat, Minter apparently has been locked up in his lair (or wherever he can create games while on acid) working on a Tempest follow-up (of sorts) for the Xbox Live Arcade called Space Giraffe. Of course, Microsoft is just getting an early build of the game now, so it's not a sure bet we'll be seeing this on XBLA soon, though after seeing footage of said shooter (http://www.xboxyde.com/stream_3231_en.html), I can't imagine them turning down this wonderfully retro sucker.

Now I just have to get myself an Xbox 360. And a few games. Oh, my husband is going to be sooooo happy to hear that :)

You know you want to look through Tingle's freshly pickled, rose-colored glasses

I know Link's little sidekick, Tingle, has a bad rep here in the U.S. He was a bit on the annoying side in his video game debut (The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask on the N64), I'll admit--but that doesn't mean I've put him in the doghouse for good. No sir!

When I first read about Tingle's Freshly Picked Rose-Coloured Rupee Land (that's the Japanese name translated, folks), an RPG built around Tingle's backstory (oh behave!), my ears perked up immediately. I was even more interested when I saw the first screenshots of the game--it looked like a very surreal twist on an old SNES favorite, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

Considering the unpopularity of the main character, and the absolutely bizarre structure and storyline of the game, I never really expected the game to be released in the States. Early last month, though, word came out that the game had been translated into English and would be released in Europe sometime this year. Woo hoo! At the very least I knew I could import the sucker if I had to.

Well, it seems that may not have to happen. The latest issue of EGM magazine apparently states that Tingle's anti-RPG will be making its way across the pond later this year. No idea when, or what the final U.S. name will be, but I'm sure that will be forthcoming if the folks at EGM are telling the truth.

Fingers crossed!

(BTW, if you've never heard of this game, check out IGN.com's preview, and a small video clip, here: http://ds.ign.com/articles/730/730642p1.html)