Zac Gorman x Dragon Quest

You want to know why I've long been fascinated by Square Enix's vaunted Dragon Quest series?

Take in the illustration below, which was made by artist Zac Gorman for an iam8bit gallery exhibition that opens this Friday in Los Angeles.

Seriously, how could you not fall head over heels in love with such a charming cast of characters?

For those of you who are up for a bit more of Gorman's brilliance, check out this Donkey Kong-inspired t-shirt design.

No joke: if I hadn't just bought two game-related tees, I'd pick up one of the above faster than you can say, "It's-a me, Jumpman!"

Sexy Spa + Red Loincloth Mario

OK, so the "Sexy Spa Mario" seen in the photo below (and here) isn't quite as studly as the one showcased in this pair of previous posts.

That doesn't mean he isn't worth checking out, does it?

At the very least, he's worth a quick glance--maybe even a double take--just for the effort Flickr user Danny Yama, aka danny_8bit, put into creating him (out of Perler Beads).



Also worth a bit of visual attention, in my humble opinion: Yama's "Red Loincloth Mario," which can be seen below and here.



The question I have for the folks at Nintendo of Japan: when are we going to see these Mario personas in an official Super Mario Bros. game?

To see more of Yama's concoctions, saunter on over to flickr.com/photos/danny_8bit/ at your earliest convenience.

Coming soon: me on the Chic Pixel Plus! podcast

Those of you who follow me on Twitter likely already know this, but here's a little heads up for the rest of you: last night Anne Lee and I recorded the third episode of her podcast, Chic Pixel Plus!

We discussed all kinds of fun stuff during our hour-and-a-half chat, although the majority of it focused on Japan--as in, why Anne and I decided to learn Japanese (I just started; Anne's been at it for years) and how Anne's planning to spend her time in the erstwhile Land of the Rising Sun when she and her husband travel there in just over a week.

While discussing Anne's upcoming trip, by the way, we spent quite a bit of time talking about some of the games--GameBoy Advance ones, especially--she's considering buying while perusing Osaka's main shopping district, "Den-Den Town."

Anne even challenged me to try to sell her on one of the many retro consoles she's sure to encounter while in Japan. Which one did I go with? The PC Engine, of course, although I also suggested she couldn't go wrong with the Famicom.

Anyway, according to Anne, this episode should be available--on her blog, Chic Pixel--sometime early next week. In the meantime, feel free to check out the first two episodes of her podcast here.

See also: posts about The Nichiest Podcast Ever

'The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers'

A hearty thanks goes out to The Gay Gamer commenter and, far more importantly, developer (of Astroman and Tiny Barbarian DX, among other titles) Michael Stearns for pointing out the following Kickstarter, which is in support of British writer John Szczepaniak's ambitious quest to pen a book entitled "The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers."

Szczepaniak's goal for this £50,000 project: to cram "The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers" full of more interviews with Japanese developers than any previous gaming-centric tome.

"There are so many Japanese developers from over the decades who have fascinating stories, but they don't have the opportunity to communicate with English speaking audiences," Szczepaniak explains.



"This book will not be a nostalgia trip," he adds. "I am determined to have every page contain at least one previously unknown fact, anecdote or piece of trivia. My passion has always been the undocumented side of games, and regardless of who I speak with my intention will always be to ask them something no one else ever has."

To learn more about Szczepaniak's plan for "The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers," check out the video above or pay a visit to the project's Kickstarter page between now and 6 am EDT on June 30.

I find this quartet of recent-ish Japanese 3DS box arts to be really appealing, too

While hunting down examples of beautiful PS3 box art for this blog post late last week, I came across the following handful of similarly appealing Japanese 3DS covers and decided to conjure up a post about them as well.

The first, below, is of Spike Cunsoft's oddly named (and just as oddly themed--as it has players explore demon-infested dungeons with their illegitimate spawn, er, "Star Children" in tow) Conception II: Guidance of Seven Stars and Muzzle’s Nightmare.

Odd as it may be, Conception II's cover art looks pretty great--thanks in large part to its use of bright blues, purples and magentas.

The design created for New Etrian Odyssey: Millennium Girl's packaging, below, is on the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of both color and drama, but that doesn't mean I find it boring.

On the contrary, I find it to be completely compelling. Strange as it probably seems, I'm particularly taken with the font that makes up its logo--a perfect complement, in my opinion, to the ethereal illustration that supports it.

Mario and Luigi RPG 4's box art, below, also keeps things simple, and benefits greatly from it.

The only thing I'd change: that bat-thing that's hovering just above Mario's head. It really isn't needed. Thankfully, it hardly destroys the rest of the design, so I won't be too disappointed if it appears on the game's North American cover, too.

I have a feeling I'm going to be in the minority when it comes to liking Monster Hunter 4's box art, below, but I don't care.

Of course, I've long had a soft spot for the kind of illustrations that graced covers of North American Genesis games--which Monster Hunter 4's art harkens back to, even if unintentionally--so you might want to take my opinion with a large grain of salt.

What do all of you think about the box arts above? Do you love them? Hate them? Don't worry, a shrug of the shoulders is an acceptable response, too.

See also: 'I find this trio of recent-ish Japanese PS3 box arts to be really appealing'