Completely random (and likely unpopular) opinion: Nintendo should reconsider Animal Crossing's North American logo

Here's the thing: I actually liked the North American Animal Crossing logo well enough at first. Over time, though, I've grown a bit bored with it. After all, all Nintendo of America's staffers seem to do these days is paste a rather cheap-looking accessory (for lack of a better word) on top of the tried-and-true signpost-esque design they came up with back in 2002.

Case in point: the logo that appears on Animal Crossing: New Leaf's North American box art (below).

The logo created for Animal Crossing: Wild World (below) is a bit better, it has to be said, but even then I'd hardly call it creative.

Compare both of the above-mentioned logos to the one conjured up for the Japanese version of Wild World (aka Oideyo Dōbutsu no Mori), which in my opinion not only is more whimsical--always a plus in my book--but also is a better fit with the rest of the cover imagery.

That said, I think the logo crafted for the Japanese release of New Leaf (aka Tobidase Dōbutsu no Mori) is even better--and is the kind of thing Nintendo of America's designers should strive for in the future.

I especially like how the game's title is contained within a row of homes as well as a tree--elements that play a major role in this series of adorable "life sims." The subtitle's placement within a bunch of communication bubbles is a nice design choice, too, as it helps depict the series' increased focus on interactions with players both near and far.

Anyway, that's what I think about this admittedly rather unimportant matter. What do all of you think about it?

Let's Play: 'Which Box Art is Better?' (Touch Detective 2 1/2 edition)

I don't know if any of you care to know this, but I've got the Beeworks-developed, Success-published Touch Detective titles on the brain at the moment--mainly because of my obsession with the series' soon-to-be-released (for 3DS) puzzler spin-off, Osawari Tantei Nameko Daihanshoku (aka Touch Detective: Funghi's Big Breed).

I'll have a brand-spanking-new copy of Osawari Tantei Nameko Daihanshoku in my grubby little (big) hands shortly, by the way, so keep an eye out for a post on it--if you're at all curious about it, of course.

In the meantime, I thought I'd publish another "Which Box Art is Better?" post dedicated to this charming (or so I've been told--I've yet to play one myself) series.

Last time, I focused on the first Touch Detective title, so today we're going to focus on the second, which is known as Touch Detective 2 1/2 in North America.

Speaking of which, here's the illustration that appeared on Japanese copies of the game:

And here is the art that graced covers of the North American version:

European copies of the game featured the same illustration, although it was rather garishly (and horrifically, if you ask me) colored:

Which one do I like best? Well, I'm sure you've already surmised that I'm not a fan of the Euro box art. With that out of contention, I guess I'll have to choose between the Japanese and North American covers.

Although I quite like the Japanese version's soft, almost pastel, paint job, I have to go with the North American option this time around as I feel it's far more illustrative of the game's content. Also, I really like how the designer(s) at Atlus decided to put the main character's hand to good use in the logo.

That's just my opinion on the matter, though; what's yours?

See also: Previous 'Which Box Art is Better?' posts

My Month with Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime, Part 3

Hold on to your hats, folks, as what I'm about to say may just may blow them of your pretty little heads. I ... have ... finished one of my "Bye-Bye, Backlog" games!

I finished it--Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime, that is--yesterday, in fact.

And when I say I finished it, I don't just mean that I beat the final boss; I also mean that I rescued all 100 of my slime-napped friends.

As for how long it took me to accomplish this feat: putting the game's antagonist, Don Clawleone, in his place, once and for all, pushed my playthrough past the 20-hour mark.

This post nearly wasn't so celebratory, by the way. That's because I was this close to giving up on Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime early in the week--after I became hopelessly stuck on a specific late-in-the-game tank battle.

I sped around that bump in the road after re-tooling my tank and re-configuring my crew, though, and then gleefully raced through the rest of this wonderfully captivating game.



Or maybe I should say "through the fight with the final boss," as the game never really seems to end. (A handful of side quests and a "Tank Masters Tournament" can be completed after the credits roll, plus every stage and tank battle can be re-played to your heart's content.)

Unsurprisingly, I'm still playing the game, even though there are no more slimes to rescue and no more tanks to beat to smithereens (well, other than those that are part of the Tank Masters Tournament). That's how much it has wormed it's way into my heart.

I'm going to continue enjoying Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime--and Fire Emblem: Awakening (which I have to sheepishly admit I've yet to start)--through the end of this coming week, and after that I'll switch to my next "Bye-Bye, Backlog" selection, which at the moment I'm thinking either will be Half-Minute Hero (PSP) or Super Mario Sunshine (GameCube).

In the meantime, feel free to share your heartfelt opinions of Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime in the comments section below.

See also: Previous 'Bye-Bye Backlog' posts

RIP Arkedo Studio

It's always a sad day when a game-development studio closes its doors, but it's an especially sad one when the studio in question was known for putting out quality games.

Given that, it's likely that bucket-loads of tears are being wept in response to the news that no more games will be produced by Arkedo Studio, the company responsible for Big Bang Mini (DS), the Arkedo Series of XBLIG titles and Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit (XBLA, PSN and PC).

According to a blog post written by co-founder Aurelien Regard, the company "is still here. But no one’s employed anymore.

"Arkedo hasn’t closed down and is not bankrupt," he adds, but "no more games are [being] produced, either."

Fans of Arkedo Studio's past efforts may take a bit of solace in the fact that two "small" and as-yet-unknown games will still be released by the company, although Regard didn't say when that will happen or which systems will be the recipient of them.

See also: 'Five XBLIG games you should have played, but probably didn't' and 'Shucks, this could have been a cool game ...'

Sorry, but I don't have a one-word reaction to share RE: yesterday's Nintendo Direct

I do have a few words to say about it, though--if anyone's interested in hearing them.

This latest Nintendo Direct broadcast, which focused on third-party 3DS games, began with Satoru Iwata showing some new footage of Tomodachi Collection: New Life, the sequel to a Japan-only DS life sim that's sold more than three million copies to date.

I don't know about you, but Iwata had me hooked at the get-go thanks to his Famicom-themed room.



The question is: will the game, which will be released in Japan on April 18, do what its predecessor did not and make its way westward? I hope so, although I have my doubts.

Iwata then went on to discuss a number of upcoming third-party games, some of which I'm interested in and some of which I'm not, including Level-5's Professor Layton and the Legacy of Super Civilization A (aka Professor Layton and the Azran Legacies) and Youkai Watch, Success' Touch Detective: Funghi's Big Breed (a match-three spin-off of the company's Touch Detective series) and Namco Bandai's Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission and Super Robot Wars UX.

Far more intriguing to me was the news that Level-5's Guild 02 compilation will now be released digitally rather than via retail. That said, only one of the Guild 02 titles really intrigued me, with that title being Spaceship Damray, a "suspense adventure" that's being developed by game designer Asano Kazuya and novelist Takemaru Abiko.

Atlus' Shin Megami Tensei IV and Capcom's Monster Hunter 4 wrapped up this installment of Nintendo Direct, and both looked pretty great to these presser-weary (after Sony's PS4 event of a few days ago) eyes.



I've been on the Shin Megami Tensei IV hype train since it was first announced, of course, but I haven't always had such a favorable impression of Monster Hunter 4 (or any Monster Hunter game, for that matter), so it'll be interesting to see if I follow through and buy the series' latest entry should it be released here in North America.

I have to admit that I was hoping a few new 3DS games--like a Final Fantasy V remake using Bravely Default's engine--would be announced during this broadcast, but I guess it wasn't meant to be.

Maybe next time, Nintendo?