Thursday, September 01, 2011

Reason #395 I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

I will, at some point in the not-so-distant future, pick up copies of two Famicom RPGs: Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. Why? Simply put: I'm completely in love with each game's box art. I mean, just look at the luscious illustration that graced the Japanese cover of Final Fantasy:



The box art produced for the original Dragon Quest, below, is equally drool-worthy, in my humble opinion.



Admittedly, I don't know a lick of Japanese, but I've played through both of these titles enough times--Final Fantasy especially--that I probably could beat them with my eyes closed, so doing so without being able to understand the text on the screen shouldn't be much of a problem.

14 comments:

LottieTwintails said...

You should NOT feel at all odd about this! Well, at least as far as I'm concerned. Those classic Amano and Toriyama illustrations are worth owning in their own rights. And hey, if you get a free game with them... just think about it that way ;D

I'm going to assume both games would run you incredibly cheap (for import games), especially Dragon Quest, considering how many millions of copies there are out there.

Then again, this is all coming from the guy who bought a replica of the hero's helmet from the original Dragon Quest, so maybe I don't know what being "non-eccentric" is...

Anonymous said...

I love the FF artwork too! Don't you just want it in 16 x 9 wallpaper form? OF COURSE YOU DO!

http://tinyurl.com/3bnxya3

Bryan Ochalla said...

Thanks, Kamiwoo! I like the way you think -- RE: getting a "free game" with the awesome box art :) Also, like you said, I think even CIB versions of these games are pretty cheap these days.

I love that you bought a replica of the hero's helmet from the first DQ, BTW. I never knew you were such a DQ fan! Does this mean you're excited about DQX?

Bryan Ochalla said...

A ha! Yes, I do want a wallpaper of this piece of art, Trxd. Thank you!

LottieTwintails said...

Yes, I'm very hyped about DQX, Bryan! I've heard it might be "MMO-like" which is slightly worrying... but I have confidence they wouldn't screw up Japan's biggest RPG series!

Oh, you have NO idea about my Dragon Quest err... "interests". There's probably a slime toy every few feet or so in our house, among other things. I should take pictures to document my "devotion"!

Bryan Ochalla said...

I'm hyped about DQX, too, Kamiwoo. I really hope the teaser that's included on the DQ Collection that will be released in Japan shortly will be something similar to the one that was released to teast DQVIII back in the day. Also, like you, I hope the game isn't too MMO-ish. I really can't see the folks at SE messing with the game/series too much, though, so I'm not all that worried.

As for you documenting your DQ devotion -- uh, yes please! I love seeing photos of other gamers' collections, etc. Also, I'm more than a bit obsessed with the DQ slime at this point. I used to just think the character was kind of cute, but that changed after I made my way through DQIX :)

Unknown said...

These boxes are both gorgeous! Thanks for sharing, I don't think I've ever gone out of my way to see them before. When I was in Japan I think I only ever saw the games sans case, but that might be because I wasn't actively looking for them.

Do you have a way to display your treasures? It would be great if you could find a way to mount them on the wall or something!

Bryan Ochalla said...

Oh, I'm glad I introduced you to the box art of these games, Anne!

As for me displaying my treasures -- not yet. I like the idea of it, but I'm not sure how to go about it. Plus, I'd want to do so in a way that would allow me to still play them.

How about you? Do you have any treasures that you display -- or want to display?

Unknown said...

Naw, I'm in the same boat as you! I have a few odds and ends I'd like to show off but don't know how to go about doing so either. I've always liked the idea of a "cube shelf wall" using something like this: http://www.gongchang.com/colorful_cube_shelves-dp7645250/ or even just plain black ones to show off the contents. I have a bunch of random little "treasures" (mostly game-related, of course) that'd do better on the wall than just sitting in front of all my games on a shelf!

Bryan Ochalla said...

Oh, I like the idea of using plain, black "cube shelves," Anne! Maybe someday I'll actually get some and then contemplate which games, etc., get to be shown off in them :) Let me know if you ever do the same, OK?

Sean said...

I love those boxes too. Dragon Quest in particular has the colors all right - the whole thing is perfectly balanced. Boxed versions of the first Dragon Quest are a bit hard to find compared to Dragon Quest 2,3 and 4. I'm not too sure why that is.

Viewtiful_Justin said...

They butchered all the charm out of the Dragon Quest box when it came to the US as Dragon Warrior. I'm glad you love the original art as much as I do!

Bryan Ochalla said...

Sean: Yes, the colors on the DQ box are perfect, aren't they? I knew I had to have that version of the game -- along with the box, of course -- as soon as I saw it for the first time.

As for boxed versions of the first DQ being hard to come by -- I see CIB copies on eBay fairly regularly, and they see reasonably priced. Of course, I'm not too particular when it comes to CIB Famicom games -- as long as the box is mostly intact and isn't completely sun-faded, I'll buy it (assuming it's a game I want, of course!).

BTW, do you have (boxed or loose) copies of either of these games, or are you still searching for them?

Bryan Ochalla said...

I don't hate the North American DQ/DW box, Justin, but I hear what you're saying all the same. The NA art is just kind of ... generic, isn't it? I wonder why the folks at NOA back then thought American gamers wouldn't like the original art?

Anyway, I didn't know that you loved the original art so much! That's great :)