Which game looks better? (Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap edition)

Considering how much I tend to love adorable games, it probably seems weird that I've barely even acknowledged any of the various iterations of Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap that have been released over the years.

After all, each and every one of that Westone-made title's many ports are cute as all get-out. Don't believe me? Check out the video footage--of the 1991 PC Engine version--below.

You may notice that the video in question refers to the game Adventure Island. That's because Hudson decided to change things a bit when it moved The Dragon's Trap to NEC's Japan-conquering 16-bit console.



Other publishers similarly opted to recast this platformer's title during the porting process. A couple of examples: Sega called its on-the-go Game Gear effort Monster World II: The Dragon's Trap, while Hudson and NEC transformed Adventure Island to Dragon's Curse while localizing the former for the North American market.

I bring up all of the above because publisher DotEmu and developer Lizardcube just revealed that they're busy working on a remake of the game that will be called Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap.

Apparently Lizardcube is a two-person company. Normally that would concern me, but in this case, it doesn't--thanks to the fact that the people in question (Omar Cornut and Ben Fiquet) both had a hand in creating the excellent Soul Bubbles, aka Awatama, for the Nintendo DS.



Sadly, the trailer above doesn't reveal when this prettied-up take on The Dragon's Trap will see the light of day.

In the meantime, let's chat about which one looks better. Personally, I think both sport some pretty stellar visuals. Obviously Lizardcube's reimagining is the more glossy and modern of the two, but Hudson's spritework is nothing to be sneezed at either.

What do all of you think? Also, what do you think of this latest take on Westone's classic?

I know almost nothing about Thomas the Tank Engine, so why am I strangely attracted to this upcoming Japanese 3DS game?

The game in question: Tetsudou Nippon! Rosen Tabi: Kikansha Thomas-hen Oigawa Tetsudou!

I have no idea what that means in English, but I that's OK--all you really need to know is this is yet another 3DS train simulation game from the masters of the genre, Sonic Powered.

Or maybe I should say it would be yet another 3DS train simulation game if it didn't throw a wrench into the works by featuring the world-famous Thomas the Tank Engine character.

Although I've never played any of Sonic Powered's million (give or take a few hundred thousand) 3DS choo-choo sims, I've long wanted to do so.



As for why the one starring Thomas the Tank Engine has me thinking of biting the bullet, so to speak, well, I'm not sure. OK, so that's not entirely true. After reading about the game on both japanesenintendo.com and tinycartridge.com yesterday, and in the process discovering that this title's Thomas mode switches out the Japanese Rail Sim series' realistic trappings for ones far more colorful and toylike, I was smitten.

That doesn't mean I've already pre-ordered Tetsudou Nippon! Rosen Tabi: Kikansha Thomas-hen Oigawa Tetsudou! Nor does it guarantee I'll do so between now and when the game is released in late July (carrying a price tag of 6,264 yen, or about $57).

I am seriously considering it, though. Should I go through with it, I'll of course do my best to share some impressions in a future post.

Are any of you similarly attracted to this curious import? If so, please tell me (and others) why in the comments section below.

So, who else has plopped down 60 big ones for the North American version of Yomawari: Night Alone?

What kind of idiot agrees to spend $60 to buy a second copy of a game he already owns--especially when that money could be put toward the purchase of one or more of the titles currently taking up space on his or her miles-long wish list?

This kind of idiot, that's who.

I say this because over the weekend I decided to pre-order one of the Yomawari: Night Alone limited editions currently being offered up on the NIS America online store.

That wouldn't seem light such a stupid--or at least strange--move if I didn't already own a copy of the Japanese release of this cute-yet-unsettling Vita game. (Check out some photos of Yomawari's Japanese case, cartridge and instruction sheet in this recent "Nice Package!" post.)

Worse yet: I've yet to even stick my Japanese Yomawari cart into my pink-and-white Vita.

So, why did I willingly agree to hand over $60 for the game's North American limited edition when it hits the streets here on Oct. 25? To be completely honest, I was suckered in by this LE's contents.

I mean, who wouldn't want a heat-changing tumbler that features an image of this adventure's protagonist? Nearly as appealing for yours truly: a pair of full-color, soft-cover art books (one for Yomawari: Night Alone and one for the also-included htoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary) and a jewel-cased soundtrack.

NIS America's also selling a mousepad that's branded with imagery invoking both hotL#NiQ and Yomawari, but that's a separate, $15 purchase, and although I love it, I don't love it enough to blow $75 on the whole she-bang.

Will any of you also plop down some hard-earned cash on some version of Yomawari: Night Alone after it's made available this fall? If so, which one do you have your eye on at the moment?

See also: previous Yomawari-focused posts

If you own a Vita and haven't yet bought the just-released Romancing SaGa 2 remake, you may want to wait a while longer

I was all set to plop down $18 on the iOS remake of Romancing SaGa 2 that hit the Apple App Store a few days ago when I saw a tweet that suggested Square Enix is busy working on localizing and releasing the Vita iteration of this updated Super Famicom RPG to our shores as well.

After a bit of digging, I came across the following "smoking gun."



That tweet was sent out by Akitoshi Kawazu. Name doesn't ring a bell? Kawazu's basically the father of the SaGa series, so him saying an English version of Romancing SaGa 2 for Vita is on the way means something.

As a result, I've decided to save my $18 for this supposedly impending release. How about those of you who are interested in Romancing SaGa 2 and have both a smartphone and a Vita? Are you also planning to wait out the console version, or are you picking up the iOS or Android iteration?

Actually, I have a feeling at least a couple of you already bought one of the above-mentioned mobile ports. If that describes you, what do you think of your purchase so far?

Nu-Bo, Nuubou, Noobow, New--oh, whatever...

I've wanted to own this curious puzzler-platformer since I first became aware of it three years ago. (You can read my thoughts on that introduction in "His name is Noobow and I want his game.")

A year after I made Noobow's acquaintance, I came across (and quickly snapped up, naturally) the complete-in-box copy of the game showcased in the photos below.

Considering the insane prices some other obscure Japanese GameBoy titles go for these days--search eBay for Phantasm or Peetan, if you'd like proof--I got this copy for an absolute steal.

Of course, I would've been willing to spend a lot more than I did to acquire Noobow, as its packaging is the definition of "top shelf."

I mean, just look at the photo above as well as the three that follow. Every edge of Noobow's box features a little illustration of the titular character, who was an anime and manga star back in the early 1990s. 

The adorable "Noobow waving" drawing seen in the snapshot below also appears on this game's cartridge label, by the way. 

Here's the back of Noobow's box. Actually, it's just two-thirds of the back of its box; I didn't include the rest of it because a partially removed price sticker covers its lower third. 

Don't worry, I'll get rid of it eventually. (I've read that Goo Gone works pretty well in these kinds of situations as long as you don't overdo it.) After I do, maybe I'll take a few new photos and add them to my Flickr photostream.

Thankfully, the game's instruction manual is in no need of that sort of attention.

Unsurprisingly, it's stuffed with a number of so-cute-I-could-puke illustrations.

If you'd like to see more of Noobow's aww-inspiring (FYI: I made that typo on purpose) instruction pamphlet, keep your eyes peeled for another installment of my long-running "Manual Stimulation" series.

In the meantime, have any of you fine folks played this 1992, Japan-only GameBoy title? If so, what are your impressions of it?

If you haven't, I'd highly recommend checking it out via emulation as soon as you're able. It won't blow your mind, but I'm pretty sure it'll bring a smile to your face.