As if we didn't feel bad enough about Tomodachi Collection: New Life's lack of a western release

Thanks go out to "Occupy White," a member of the Gay Nintendo Gamers Facebook group, for making me aware of the following video, which is a five-and-a-half-minute trailer for Nintendo's Tomodachi Collection: New Life--released in Japan on April 28--that's been translated into English by YouTubers LinandKo.



Since it seems all but certain this 3DS title will remain a import-only affair--much like its DS-based predecessor, which hit the streets of its home country back in the summer of 2009--I'm seriously considering picking up a copy sooner rather than later.

Granted, I won't be able to understand much of what's going on for some time to come, but I'm hoping it and a few other games will help push me along the path to learning Japanese.

Let's Play: 'Which Box Art is Better?' (Pokémon X/Y edition)

I may not be the biggest Pokémon fan around, but I like the series well enough to follow developments related to its mainline releases.

Which is why, of course, I decided to devote a "Which Box Art is Better?" post to the covers that are being considered for Pokémon X and Y.

I'm guessing you don't need me to point out which is which, but just in case you do, here's Pokémon X supposedly preliminary box art:

And here's the art that'll likely grace the covers of Pokémon Y copies:

As for which I prefer: I'm a bit torn this time around, I have to say, as I really like X's cool tones and commanding protagonist while I think Y's has a better, more balanced, design.

If I were forced to pick one over the other, though, I'd probably go with Y. Which one would you choose and why?

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

Matthew Elliott x Pokémon

Warning: I've spent a lot of time perusing deviantart.com lately, so you should expect a number of upcoming posts to focus on fabulous game-related drawings and the like.

Cases in point: the following Pokémon illustrations, produced some time ago by Matthew Elliott (aka pseudonymjones).

"Team Rocket Grunt F + KOFFING"

"HAUNTER used Sucker Punch"

"MAGIKARP used Splash"

I came across the pieces above after stumbling across Elliott's take on everyone's favorite closeted game character, Tingle, by the way. Check out that illustration here, and check out his tumblr (which he seems to use more than deviantart these days) here.

Three-and-a-half minutes of awesome Animal Crossing doodles

Just in case you've forgotten, Animal Crossing: New Leaf will be released in North America in less than a month.

That likely sounds like a reasonably short amount of time to some folks, but for me it's still much too far away. The game was first teased during E3 2011, damn it. I want it nooooooooooow!

The only things that are keeping me anywhere close to sane through all of this are New Leaf-centric Tumblrs like bunsicalcrossing.tumblr.com and merongcrossing.tumblr.com.



Oh, and videos like the one above, created by YouTube user surrounded78, who produced each of the 95 (or so) illustrations included within using black pencil and acrylic paint.

My favorites are shown at :25, 1:04, 1:13, 2:56 and 3:05, by the way. Which are yours?

(Via bunsicalcrossing.tumblr.com)

Five Famicom games I'm going to (attempt to) play once I've learned enough Japanese

Now that I've broken the ice and written a post about five of the PC Engine games I'm going to attempt to play through one I've learned enough Japanese, I may as well continue that line of thinking and plow through a number of similar posts devoted to other not-available-in-English games I've always wanted to play, right?

I agree. This post, then, will focus on five Famicom games that currently reside on my "play as soon as you've learned enough Japanese" (whatever that means) shortlist, while future posts likely will focus on GameBoy Advance, Game Gear, PlayStation and WonderSwan games. (Don't worry, I'm considering adding Mega Drive, PlayStation 2, Saturn and Super Famicom games to this series, too.)

1. Digital Devil Monogatari: Megami Tensei--I've yet to play any of the mainline Megami Tensei or Shin Megami Tensei titles (Shin Megami Tensei IV for the 3DS will be my first), so why do I want to play this one so badly? I guess I'm a sucker for old-school dungeon-crawlers and RPGs. Let's just hope that this one relies entirely (or at least mostly) on hiragana and katakana, rather than kanji, to tell its story--otherwise, I may end up wishing I'd avoided it altogether.

2. Ganbare Goemon Gaiden I and II--A pair of Goemon-based RPGs, you say? And they feature some surprisingly nice (although by no means amazing) graphics? Where do I sign up? Oh, and another feather in the pixelated caps worn by this pair of Konami-made games: both have absolutely breathtaking box art.

3. Lagrange Point--Considering how many Famicom games have been translated into English by fans over the years, I'm more than a bit surprised that this one has yet to join the club, so to speak. I mean, not only was it developed and published by Konami, but it's also a sci-fi RPG, for crying out loud. Maybe the VRC7 chip that was used to enhance the game's music and sound effects has hampered translators? Whatever the reason, I've always wanted to play it, so hopefully I'll be able to do so sooner rather than later. (Although, honestly, I'll take what I can get.)

4. Shin Onigashima--Call me crazy, but I've been curious about this text-based adventure ever since I first laid eyes on a few screenshots of it as a youngster. Back then, I was especially attracted to its overtly Asian art style, but these days I also like that, according to the Shin Onigashima Wikipedia entry, its story apparently is made up of "numerous interwoven Japanese fairytales."

5. Square's Tom Sawyer--I was blissfully unaware of this 8-bit, RPG-ified take on Mark Twain's classic novel from 1876 until my pal, blogger Drew Mackie, published an eye-opening post about it ("An Ill-Advised Trip Down a Pixelated River") last summer. I've wanted to play it ever since. Given that, maybe this should be the first Japanese-heavy Famicom game I attempt once I've learned enough of the language?

See also: 'Five PC Engine games I'm going to (attempt to) play once I've learned enough Japanese'