Sunday, May 31, 2015

Capcom, Nintendo and Square are doing their darndest to suck me (and my bank account) dry

And here I thought this morning's Japanese Nintendo Direct was going to be a dud.

Instead, it ended with me adding a bunch of items--not just games, but systems and even accessories, too--to my ever-growing 3DS wish list.

Admittedly, a couple of the aforementioned titles that are going to be picked up as soon as is possible--which means the minute they're released--were announced prior to today's broadcast, but I wasn't sure about either of them until I saw them in action or saw their box art.

The 3DS port (of sorts) of Dragon Quest VIII is the game that I had to see in action before deciding to purchase it, by the way.

Speaking of which, its first trailer can be seen at the beginning of the Nintendo Direct. I don't know about you, but I think it looks pretty wonderful. Even if it didn't, though, I'd probably buy a copy of it just so I could experience the "pudding slime" spotted at the 2:07 mark firsthand.

Dragon Quest VIII will hit store shelves in Japan on Aug. 27. Here's hoping it somehow makes its way westward, too.



As for the 3DS game that I want to own now that I've seen its box art, that would be Doubutsu no Mori: Happy Home Designer.

Seriously, look at the packaging above and try to tell me it isn't fabulous beyond belief.



Actually, scratch that. This Animal Crossing spin-off's cover art is just fabulous when compared to the special New 3DS LL system (above) that's set to be released alongside it.

Even more fabulous, in my humble opinion, is the Happy Home Designer-branded kisekae plate that also will hit the streets of Japan on July 30.



You can rest assured I'll pre-order the latter as soon as someone allows me to do so--despite the fact that I've yet to pick up a New 3DS system.

This latest Nintendo Direct didn't focus only on already announced 3DS games, thankfully. A handful of surprises found their way into the broadcast, too, with the side-scrolling Guru Guru! Chibi Robo! and Monster Hunter X being two of them.

To be honest, as happy as I am that Nintendo's giving Chibi Robo another chance, I'm not sure I'll be purchasing this latest effort. (I'd far prefer an adventure that apes the series' original offering.)

Also, as nice as Monster Hunter X looks, I can say with quite a bit of certainty that I won't be adding it to my collection of 3DS games.



I can say with just as much certainty, though, that I'll be buying one of the other out-of-left-field titles that were announced earlier today--with the title in question being MonHun Nikki: Poka Poka Airu Mura DX (aka Monster Hunter Diary: Poka Poka Airu Village DX).

After all, I've wanted to play one of the MonHun Nikki games for ages, and I can't think of anything more appropriate than finally doing so on my Japanese 3DS.

(This kind of puts the copy of the first MonHun Nikki for PSP I acquired a short while ago in a precarious position, I guess, but what can you do?)

What did all of you think about this morning's Nintendo Direct? Did any accessories, games or systems stick out at you as "must buys"?

20 comments:

Franggio Hogland said...

Hah, yeah MHX really are pushing my buttons.
Looks so flashy and the best MH is so obvious in it. The freedom series :) Osaka and Tokyo team together. It can't get better. Well barring a E3 announcement saying it'll be releasing worldwide at the same time so I don't have to convince myself to buy a new Japanese N3DS :)

Dragon Quest just got me to set up an emulator and dream about what could have been :(

thegaygamer.com said...

Well, I'm certainly glad to hear that some folks are excited about MHX. Actually, it seems like the overall consensus on line is rather positive for it, which shocks me a bit, as I thought people would complain that it looks just like MH4, etc.


As for DQVIII, although I agree that an HD remaster of it for PS4 or even Wii U would look wonderful, I still think this 3DS version looks nice. Plus, it'll be portable, which is my main concern these days.

apricotsushi said...

I've already preordered a copy of Poka Poka Airou Mura DX! So excited! A bit of a shame that I might never spend quality time with the PSP versions I own, but oh well....


The Animal Crossing 3DS is just gorgeous, too. I'm not sure I'll be able to get into the game itself with that card system, though, which I'm not really a fan of

thegaygamer.com said...

That's great to hear, Anne! I'm going to pre-order a copy of DX tonight. And as soon as AmiAmi allows me to do so, I'm going to pre-order that Animal Crossing cover plate!

I'm also not entirely convinced about the AC game that spurred the cover plate's creation, BTW, but I'm probably going to give it a try all the same.

Franggio Hogland said...

Ohh those DQVIII screen shots where with the FFX settings for the vita :)
I'm a handheld player mostly but have this strange notion where I believe it would be everywhere preferably :)

As for the satisfaction rate seems as those watching the stream weren't. Which doesn't mean much if we go by history :) and doesn't mean jack to me, Monster Hunter finally looks like I always wanted it to ♪ヾ(●´∀`●)ノ

http://imgur.com/m783Lk4

thegaygamer.com said...

Well, yes, in a perfect game, everyone would be able to play every game, but that's not going to happen.


Even in this case, it's easy to see how porting DQVIII to 3DS and Vita and PS4, etc., wouldn't make financial sense for Square, especially given the different architectures between all of the systems in question.


As for MHX, the majority of the comments I've seen on NeoGAF and Twitter had been very positive for the game, but of course that doesn't always mean much.


Still, I have a feeling the game will do well in Japan--and elsewhere, too, if it's actually released in the West.

apricotsushi said...

Well I'd love to hear your thoughts!

thegaygamer.com said...

You mean after I actually get the AC game, right? Or do you mean you'd like to hear why I'm not completely sold on the idea of the game at this point?

apricotsushi said...

Oh sorry for the confusion, I mean I'd like to hear your thoughts if you do end up getting Happy Home. It's not something I'd pick up right away but if I hear good things I might!

thegaygamer.com said...

Oh, I get it now! Anyway, I have a feeling I'll pick it up in some form or other, so I guess you can look forward to impressions from me eventually :)

Justin Difazzio said...

Happy Home Designer looks like a beautiful thing. And that XL! I'm dying!

thegaygamer.com said...

Ah, someone who's looking forward to HHD. Yay!


Also, is it weird that I like the backside of the XL more than the front? Of course, I always have been an ass man... ;)

Justin Difazzio said...

Ha! That's fair. ;-)

thegaygamer.com said...

BTW, as much as I love this XL, I'm far more interested in the smaller new 3DS with the Animal Crossing cover plate. It's soooooo cute!

Monster_Hunter2882 said...

The pricing for Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer and it's cards has damped my enthusiasm for it. It's $30 for the game and $40 when bundled with the NFC reader and either way you buy it you only get one card. To get more cards you have to buy a $3 blind pack which have 3 cards. So the least you're paying for the game + all its card is $130 and that's if you don't get and duplicate cards or have someone to trade with. I think I'll wait for reviews before I decide if it's worth it. In my opinion the game it self should be free download since you have to buy cards and it made from assists from New Leaf. Hopefully Nintendo won't release a lot of amiibo required games.


I've been expecting Capcom to make a Monster Hunter Nikki game for the 3DS and I'm hoping they'll bring it west this time. Interestingly enough the official English Monster Hunter You Tube channel has subtitled flash shorts that were meant to advertised Nikki G . As for M.H.X I'm interested to see how they'll experiment with the M.H. formula. I noticed in it's trailer all the hunter's are hunting by themselves and don't use any items.


Watching The Dragon Quest VIII trailer there's a noticeable down grade in visuals from the P.S.2 version but it's not significant enough for me to care.


I also saw that Fire Emblem If has some kind of romance feature in it and I really want it to have same-sex romance options but I'm not setting my hopes high.


Sorry that this post is rather long and messy.

thegaygamer.com said...

Well, I can't disagree with anything you said here, Sam--especially the stuff about Happy Home Designer.


Personally, I'm hoping that the price means that there's more to that game than what we've seen so far. If that's not the case, though, the game's definitely over-priced.


I'm still curious about it, though, and I have a feeling I'll pick up some version of it eventually. I like the idea of buying the Japanese version and using it to help with my Japanese language studies, but who knows if I'll actually go ahead with it.


Anyway, I also hope MonHun Nikki DX comes here, but I'm not holding my breath. The same is true of DQ VIII, which I'm also prepared to buy in its Japanese form. MH X surely will be released here, though.


As for FE if, I like the looks of it and probably will pick it up if it's released here in the US, but I have no hope whatsoever that it will feature same-sex romances. Nintendo's going to have to surprise me with that one...

Eric withCheese Ashley said...

I'm looking forward to anything Animal Crossing as it is one of my very favorite Nintendo franchises. I do wish the pricing was a bit lower on the Happy Home game, but who am I kidding? I'll still buy it and a bunch of amiibo cards.

And I want that new 3DS design!!!

thegaygamer.com said...

Yep, I'm pretty much in the same boat as you are, Eric. BTW, I'm guessing this means you'd love it if Nintendo announced an Animal Crossing game for Wii U at E3 next week? (I know I would!)

Eric withCheese Ashley said...

I think that so many people expect a Wii U Animal Crossing by now that if they don't announce one, it'd be a huge letdown.

thegaygamer.com said...

Yep, I agree 100 percent.