I wish we were getting a new Shiren the Wanderer title rather than Etrian Mystery Dungeon

Or a new Chocobo no Fushigina Dungeon game. Or a new Torneko no Daibōken adventure.

Both of which, admittedly, would have required at least a bit of (uncharacteristic) interest and action on the part of Square Enix, but the point still stands.

So, why have I gone from being blown away by Etrian Mystery Dungeon's unveiling to wishing the folks at Spike Chunsoft (or whichever developer is crafting this 3DS roguelike) had endeavored to make a new Chocobo no Fushigina Dungeon, Torneko no Daibōken or Shiren the Wanderer title instead?

For starters, I'm feeling a bit burned out on the Etrian Odyssey franchise at the moment. Or maybe you could say I'm burned out on the idea of the Etrian Odyssey franchise? Because, honestly, although I spent a good number of hours playing through the majority of Etrian Odyssey IV earlier this year, I haven't played or even bought any of the series' other entries since then. I guess all of the recent releases and announcements--Etrian Odyssey Untold I and II, Etrian Odyssey V, even the spinoff of sorts that is Persona Q--have taken a toll on me and my interest in this otherwise appealing IP.

Another reason I've cooled on Etrian Mystery Dungeon in the last few days: I'm skeptical as to how it's going to measure up to past Mystery Dungeon efforts. That's mainly because it seems likely that this title won't feature permadeath, something that's generally considered a series staple, although I'm also sort of stumped as to whether leading four, rather than just one (or sometimes two), characters through this game's labyrinthine dungeons is going to be an interesting change of pace or an annoying impediment. (Oh, and before anyone asks, yes, I know players won't fully control all four party members in Etrian Mystery Dungeon, but leading them around still may prove awkward.)

All that said, I'm very much looking forward to getting my hands on this game and giving it a thorough once-over--even if I end up being disappointed by it. In fact, I've already pre-ordered a copy of it.

Are any of you also itching to play Etrian Mystery Dungeon? If so, why?

Square Enix reveals the next Japanese 3DS game it'll surely fail to release in other regions: Theatrhythm Dragon Quest

Can you tell I'm a bit bitter about how the powers that be at Square Enix have treated 3DS owners outside of Japan?

Of course, it's hard not to feel kind of jaded when you consider that the company has localized just a small handful of its Japanese 3DS games--Kingdom Hearts 3D and the two Theatrhythm Final Fantasy titles are the only ones that come to mind at the moment--since Nintendo's most recent dual-screened handheld launched four or so years ago.

All that said, I'm still planning to pre-order a copy of Theatrhythm Dragon Quest well in advance of its Japanese release, which is set for March 26.

That's not yet possible, sadly, so while I wait for some online retailer (I'm looking at you, amiami.com) to allow it, I'll keep refreshing the game's official site until it offers visitors some screenshots or a trailer.

A custom-painted Dreamcast that supposedly features the system's 'best games' but forgoes ChuChu Rocket! and Space Channel 5? Hmmm...

Granted, it's kind of hard to fault artist Oskunk for focusing on other Dreamcast "classics" like Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio and Shenmue while conjuring up his latest creation--although I'm sure some folks would do just that in regard to his decision to feature Sonic Adventure.

(I can't join them because I've never played any version of Sonic Adventure. In fact, I don't think I've played any Sonic the Hedgehog game past ... the third Genesis game?)

At the very least, I think a fifth character--Space Channel 5's magenta-coifed Ulala--should have been added to this custom-painted Dreamcast's lid, especially since it would've injected some much-needed femininity into the proceedings.



(Switching out Jet Set Radio's Beat for Gum would've done the trick, too, but I fully understand and appreciate that the former is far more likely to be that game's "mascot" than the latter.)

Even in its current, Space Channel 5-free state, though, this concoction is pretty darn sweet, don't you think?

If you'd like to take a closer look at the console or its similarly colorful controllers, by the way, I'd suggest heading over to custom-art.blogspot.com at your earliest convenience.

See also: previous Oskunk-centric posts

'Tis the season for Snow Bros. Jr. (GameBoy)

There was a time--not too long ago, in fact--when I wasn't all that interested in Toaplan's painfully short-lived Snow Bros. series.

Its garish use of color and its nightmarish cast of characters--including the titular Nick and Tom--just didn't sit well with me, I guess.

At any rate, I pretty much ignored the handful of Snow Bros. ports and sequels that were released over the years until I came across the cover art showcased in the photos below. (Check out my Flickr photostream if you'd like to see a few more.)

The game in question is 1991's Snow Bros. Jr., by the way, which was published in Japan by Naxat Soft. (Capcom brought it to North America the following year as Snow Brothers.)

Admittedly, this version of the game lacks the color that abounds in pretty much all of its counterparts, but that doesn't impact the experience as negatively as you might think.

It helps, of course, that the gameplay found in the arcade original seems to have survived the transition from big screen--or at least bigger screen--to small mostly intact. Also, the portable port's soundtrack is just as zippy and energetic as it is in any other Snow Bros. release.

Let's be honest, though: even if I considered every other aspect of this GameBoy title to be a bit crappy, I'd probably still have searched far and wide for a complete-in-box copy.

After all, just look at its box art--and the contents of its instruction manual, too. I mean, it even includes a little comic strip. What's not to like about that? (Sadly, I don't understand a lick of its story.)

Sure, the back of Snow Bros. Jr.'s box is by far the least enticing aspect of this otherwise-precious package, but you can't always have everything, can you?

Have any of you played this portable take on Toaplan's somewhat-sinister, single-screen platformer? If so, what do you think of it?

See also: previous 'Year of the GameBoy' posts

Shall We Do It? (Fantasy Life, Final Fantasy Explorers Light and Solitiba)

There's a reason I haven't published one of these posts in some time. (Not since Oct. 14, in fact.) Actually, there are two reasons, with one being the North American 3DS title, Fantasy Life, and the other being the Japanese 3DS eShop title, Solitiba.

Although I've put far more time into the former than the latter in the last month and a half, I've gotten such a kick out of playing both of them that no other game has been able to steal my attention away from them.

Well, that's not completely true. I forced myself to download the Japanese demo of Square Enix's Final Fantasy Explorers (called Final Fantasy Explorers Light) a weekend or so ago, after all, and even gave it a few plays before stuffing it into a folder somewhere and moving back to Fantasy Life and Solitiba.

Anyway, keep reading if you'd like to read a few more of my thoughts on this trio of 3DS games.



Fantasy Life--You want to know how completely this recent Level-5 release has me wrapped around its finger? I've put 76 hours into it so far, that's how completely.

Actually, I probably should've said "had" rather than "has" in the sentence above, as I haven't booted up Fantasy Life since I played it for about four hours while flying from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Seattle last Friday. Don't worry, I'll get back to it shortly. After all, I've loved pretty much every minute of it so far--and I've spent a lot of minutes with it.

I've accomplished a lot during all those minutes (and hours) of play, of course, although I've yet to finish the game's main story. I believe I'm nearly there, though, so expect me to wrap it up between now and the next time I publish one of these posts.

The fact is, though, that most of what Fantasy Life has to offer people happens outside the confines of its main story--or, rather, happens while the main story is "on pause," so to speak. In my case, for instance, the majority of my experience with the game has been spent leveling up various "lives"--to the point that I've now spent a good amount of time with eight of the 12 jobs included here. (All of them have been brought up to "Hero" level except blacksmith, which is only up to "Master.") My favorites at the moment: archer and angler, I think, although I honestly get a kick out of all of them.

I still find Fantasy Life's verbose nature to be a bit annoying, by the way, but it's easy enough to skip through all of the blather, so don't worry about it too much if you're on the fence about buying the game.



Final Fantasy Explorers Light--Although I downloaded this demo of Square Enix's upcoming Final Fantasy spin-off (for the 3DS) as soon as it was uploaded to the Japanese eShop, I put off playing it until a couple of days ago due to the fact that I've been luke warm (at best) on its art style ever since I first laid eyes on it a few months back.

Which is a shame, as now that I've spent some time with the game and seen its graphics in motion, it really doesn't look all that bad. It also doesn't look stellar, mind you, but it looks better than I thought it would based on my first impressions.

As for the gameplay, all I've gathered so far is that it's quest-heavy--it's similar to the Bravely Default demo, in that regard--and vaguely Monster Hunter-esque, although I hesitate to say the latter as Final Fantasy Explorers seems a lot less strategic than Capcom's money-maker.

I'm going to play Light for a little longer before making a decision about the full game, but I've got to admit that at the moment I'm leaning toward not picking it up--assuming Square Enix even bothers to release it in North America. (Because there's no way I'm importing and playing through the Japanese release.)

In a way, I kind of hope the remainder of my time with Light prompts a change of heart, because for some weird reason I really want to like it--even with its questionable art style. Why couldn't the artist responsible for, say, the original Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles have worked on this sucker?



Solitiba--I actually stepped away from this (sadly) Japan-only offering after putting about 35 hours into it. Not because I was tired of it, mind you, but because my copy of Fantasy Life arrived and I was just a bit more desperate to play it than I was to continue playing Solitba.

Now that I'm taking a bit of a breather from Fantasy Life, though, I have plenty of "brain bandwidth" to devote to Solitiba again.

In case you haven't gathered already, this is one of those games that latches onto you and refuses to let go without a proper fight. I guess that could be due to the fact solitaire is such a prominent part of it--and solitaire's right up there with games like Tetris when it comes to sucking you in and wasting more of your time than you thought it would, although of course it could be argued that one is a bit less exciting than the other--but I don't think that's entirely what's going on here.

No, I think the real reason Solitiba is so easy to pick up, and so hard to put down, is that all of its elements--the solitaire portions, the horse-racing segments, the magnificent art style, Game Freak's "golden touch"--combine and conspire to produce a whole that's far more enticing than the sum of these aforementioned parts.

As a result, I really hope the folks at Game Freak--or Nintendo, or some other publisher--are toiling away on English and other language versions of Solitiba, because I honestly consider it to be a gem that people all around the world, and not just those in Japan (or those, like me, who own Japanese 3DS systems), should be given an chance to experience.

See also: previous 'Shall We Do It?' posts