Let's play: 'Which box art is better?' (Dragon Quest IX edition)

The folks at Nintendo have announced (finally!) European and North American release dates for the eagerly anticipated Square Enix/Level-5 RPG, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies. North Americans will be able to get their grubby little hands on the DS title on July 11, while their European counterparts will be able to do so on July 23.

Although the European and North American versions of the game will retain most, if not all, of the features and qualities that made the Japanese original a mammoth hit, they will not retain that version's cover art (below).

Here's how the cover art will look on the European/North American versions of the game:

Which do I prefer? Eh, the Japanese version, I guess, although I can understand why the brass at Nintendo of America/Europe decided to change it (i.e., they probably considered the original art a bit too "Japanese" for Western audiences).

Anyway, if you want to know more about the European and North American versions of Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies, head over to tinycartridge.com or toastyfrog.com. Or just click on this link to see the game's latest trailer.

See also: 'Let's play: 'Which box art is better?' (PaRappa The Rapper edition)'

Curiosity of the day: Square's Aliens game

I don't know about you, but I didn't know--until a few hours ago, at least--that more than two decades ago the folks at what was then known as Square made a game (for the MSX) based on the 1986 film Aliens.

I found out about it after watching said film (for, oh, the 20th or so time) last night--which prompted me to search the Interwebs for games based on James Cameron's blockbuster and its Ridley Scott-directed predecessor. That search led me to this destructoid.com article and this Wikipedia page--both of which mention Square's Contra-esque shoot 'em up.

Here's what it looks like in action:



Honestly, I don't think the game looks bad at all. It certainly puts to shame the Pac-Man-esque Alien title that appeared (five years earlier, admittedly) on the Atari 2600.

See also: 'Curiosity of the day: Sega's Mega Jet'

'Sock It 2 Me'

This recent NeoGAF thread got me thinking about one of my favorite game-inspired music videos: Missy Elliott's "Sock It 2 Me."



Say what you want about Ms. Elliott and/or her track, but the video? At the very least, you have to give the lady props for the Mega Man-esque getup.

Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari 'Her'

Or as the game would be known in English (if it were real): Downtown Girls’ Hot-Blooded Story.

Actually, I shouldn't say the game isn't real; it is real, in that it exists, but it certainly isn't an official release. Instead, someone hacked Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari (aka River City Ransom) and replaced all of the game's male sprites with female ones. He/she then went a few steps further and made an actual cartridge and box for the title--and put the whole shebang up for sale on Yahoo! Auctions. The winning bidder handed over a whopping ¥25,510 (about $276) for it.

As cool as the game looks (a few screenshots can be seen at the bottom of its Yahoo! Auctions page), I think I'll stick with the original--which I bought ages ago for $5 via the Wii Virtual Console.

(Via tinycartridge.com)

In my oh-so-gay opinion: The five most iconic controller designs of all time

Well, I've become quite an opinionated old poof, haven't I?

Don't worry, I won't overdo these "in my oh-so-gay opinion" pieces--I just have to get a few of them out of my system before I return to the status quo.

Anyway, the focus of this one is pretty straightforward, don't you think? For those of you who don't think that, here's the deal: The five controllers below are the ones I consider to be the most iconic in terms of design.

Atari 2600 Joystick--If you're, say, under 30, you likely looked at the image above and thought: What in the hell is that? The rest of you, on the other hand, probably thought: Oh, yeah, I remember using that to play Crystal Castles! The latter response is reason enough to add the Atari 2600 joystick to this list, but it isn't the only reason. Another: It's the definition of sleek simplicity, which makes it the ideal bookend to the last controller on this list.

NES controller--If I had decided to put these controllers in order of iconicness (I know, not a real word) instead of in order of release, I would have placed the NES pad in the pole position. After all, it's pretty much a perfect storm when it comes to controller design--what with its understated, rectangular shape, its subdued black-gray-red color scheme, its game-changing (literally and figuratively) d-pad and its Konami-code-capacitating A and B buttons.

Super Famicom controller--In a way, Nintendo's designers didn't take all that many risks while developing the Super Famicom's controller. Basically, they added a couple of colorful buttons to the standard Famicom/NES pad and called it a day. Still, those colorful buttons and another seemingly simple change--which involved replacing all of the NES controller's sharp corners with ergonomic, eye-pleasing curves--were enough to secure this pad's place in the hearts and minds of gamers around the world.

PlayStation Dual Shock--I'm sure some will squawk that I decided to include this controller and not the controller that inspired it (the analog-enabled one that shipped with the Nintendo 64). The fact is, although I fully acknowledge that the folks at Nintendo were first to bring the analog stick to the table, I think Sony's staffers took the idea to the next level--from a design standpoint, at least--with the slick, sexy Dual Shock.

Wii Remote--Earlier, while describing the Atari 2600 joystick, I used the words "sleek simplicity." Well, those words ably describe the all-white Wii remote, too. Sure, Nintendo's designers may have stolen a few ideas from the folks at Apple, but you can't really blame them, can you? Plus, although it's easy to call their design choices "safe" today, they were considered shockingly risky when the controller was unveiled at the 2005 Tokyo Game Show.

See also: 'In my oh-so-gay opinion: The five most iconic systems designs of all time'