All I want for Christmas is a Famicom cart converted into a handheld

Some crazy (crazy smart!) guy has turned a Mario Bros. Famicom cartridge into an operable handheld gaming system that plays Famicom/NES ROMs.



Here's hoping he finds a way to mass produce them :)

Kirby + Katamari Damacy = kick-ass Wii game

I'll expound upon this comment in a latter post, but I believe Keita Takahashi's Katamari Damacy to be one of the most artistic, enjoyable and interesting games of the past decade.

As such, it shouldn't be a surprise to read that I'm intrigued by the following video:



Takahashi has had nothing to do with The Munchables (due out in May), but it sure seems like someone at Namco Bandai is invoking his spirit (as well as the spirit of Pac-Man creator Tōru Iwatani).

For more on this curious creation, check out the game's official website.

Princess Mario

Sometimes style trumps substance, you know? A perfect example:



I found this image while perusing Flickr this morning. It's from a Super Mario World player's guide sold in Japan.

I'm actually surprised such a costume/outfit hasn't yet appeared in a Super Mario game, given Nintendo's penchant for strangely LGBT-leaning characters. (More on that soon...)

Hudson to (hopefully) make a welcome return to the Wii VC in March with Detana!! TwinBee

It has been too long, Hudson. Too long. The last time you released a TurboGrafx-16 title on the Wii Virtual Console was October 2008 (when you offered up the wonderful Gradius II and the not-so-wonderful Digital Champ Battle Boxing).

All will be forgiven in March, though, if you release Bomberman '94 and Detana!! TwinBee (neither of which were released outside of Japan back in the day). (Hudson's own VC website suggests it will happen, though it has been wrong in the past.)

With those two gems out of the way, hopefully you'll finally turn your attention to Parasol Stars, one of the best games to be released for the TurboGrafx-16 (in my humble opinion). Maybe you could release the Japan-only Rainbow Islands as well?

Final Fantasy IV follow-up on its way to WiiWare

I know I said this site would contain more articles and commentary and less "news items" than it did in the past, but I can't help myself with this one: According to the Entertainment Software Rating Board's website, Square-Enix is bringing the previously cellphone-only game, Final Fantasy IV: The After, to WiiWare.

Here's a summary of the game that appears on the ESRB site:

"This is a 2D role-playing game in which players embark on an adventure involving magical crystals and a mysterious kingdom. Players traverse across a field map or through dungeons and can enter into turn-based battles along the way. Players use a menu screen to select attacks or magic spells against tiny enemies (e.g., leopards, birds, knights, fish monsters, etc.) that blink and disappear when defeated. An item called "Bacchus Wine" is occasionally used to defeat enemies in battle."

(A more detailed description of the game can be found on its Wikipedia page.)

The ESRB listing doesn't reveal when the game will be released. It also doesn't reveal whether the game will be sold as a single download (as is the case for most WiiWare games) or if it will be sold as several separate "episodes" like the original release, though one seemingly in-the-know poster over at NeoGAF.com suggests it will be the latter.