Saturday, September 26, 2015

WonderSwan doodle

I decided a couple of days ago to start prettying up my workspace. Specifically, I decided I'd produce at least one doodle (on a sticky note, of course) each day and then pin the resulting creation to the padded wall of my cubicle.

The doodle I came up with on Friday focused on a subject that's been bouncing around in my brain for the last few days: Bandai's Japan-only competitor to Nintendo's GameBoy, the uniquely named WonderSwan.

I'm sure many more game-inspired doodles will follow this one in the coming weeks and months, and I'm also sure that I'll share snapshots of at least some of them via Instagram. (Don't worry, future photos should look far better than the washed-out one that follows.)



Speaking of which, my Instagram handle is "rainbow_blight," just in case any of you want to follow me there. 

I regularly use all sorts of other social-media sites and apps, too, by the way--including Facebook, Flickr, Google+, Tumblr and Twitter--so please follow me there (and chat me up now and then) as well if you're into such things.

Other than that, do any of you also have the WonderSwan on the brain at the moment? Or are you otherwise fans of this quirky handheld? If so, please show your love in the comments section below.

See also: previous posts about the WonderSwan

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Which games allow or require you to hold your DS system sideways like a book?

I've got a problem.

OK, so I've got lots of problems--especially when it comes to this lovely little hobby of mine that some folks refer to as "gaming."

Only one of those problems is relevant to this particular blog post, though, and that would be that I'm currently kind of obsessed with games that allow or even require you to hold your DS system sideways (like a book) while playing them.

The thing is, I can't think of many DS games that fit this description. Obviously Hotel Dusk is one of them, as is its sequel, Last Window.

Aside from that wonderful pair of visual novels, though, the only examples that come to mind are Square Enix's intriguing Sigma HarmonicsRhythm Tengoku Gold (Rhythm Heaven in North America and Rhythm Paradise in Europe) and the Brain Age games.

Do you fine folks know of any other DS carts that let or force people to play them "book-style"? If so, I'd really appreciate it if you'd share their names in the comments section below.

See also: 'Nice Package! (Last Window: The Secret of Cape West, Nintendo DS)'

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

As I've always said, you can't have too many Animal Crossing-themed things or 3DS systems

I try to be sensible when it comes to buying systems and games. A couple of months ago, though, I went overboard and ordered a whole slew of products from my favorite seller of current Japanese releases, amiami.

Specifically, I bought the games, systems and even accessories that can be seen in the photo below.


That pastel-covered box at the top of the photo contains the smaller "new 3DS"--the one that can be dolled up with a multitude of "cover plates"--that has been available in Japan for over a year now.

Below and to the right of the new 3DS box are a copy of Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer (or, rather, Doubutsu no Mori: Happy Home Designer, if you want to be perfectly accurate) and three packs of the first series of Happy Home Designer amiibo cards.

Just to the left of those offerings is a Happy Home Designer cover plate.



Above is another photo of the smaller new 3DS' lovely packaging. That little blurb in the upper-left corner informs interested parties that the system can be altered with kisekae plates--which I guess translates to something like "dress-up plates." (In the Western world, they're being called cover plates.)



And here's another look at Happy Home Designer's almost kaleidoscopic cover art. I really like how it brings to mind a child's playhouse.


The packaging that contains the Happy Home Designer amiibo cards is pretty ace, too, if you ask me. Sadly, I've yet to open the damn things.

I can't even tell you why that is--other than I've been busy with other things (wrapping up 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors being one of them) for the last couple of weeks and doing so just hasn't been a priority.

I promise I'll open them soon, though, and follow up the experience with a post that showcases photos of some of the adorable Animal Crossing--or Doubutsu no Mori--character cards that are contained within.


Finally, the Happy Home Designer cover plate that I mentioned earlier is highlighted in the photo above. Can you believe that it is what prompted me to finally pick up a new 3DS--as opposed to the other way around? Yes, I really am that sort of odd duck.

Now I just have to free all of these gaming products from their paper and plastic wrappers, put them through their paces, as the saying goes, and then report back here as to what I think of them.

In the meantime, have any of you bought or pre-ordered some version of Happy Home Designer--or are you thinking you'll buy one in the near-ish future? If so, let me know about it in the comments section below.

Monday, September 21, 2015

Now that I've finished 999, someone's going to have to explain its 'true ending' to me

Yes, it's true; I've finished Chunsoft's horror-tinged visual novel, 999 (aka 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors).

And when I say I've finished it, I mean all of it. I experienced every single ending it has to offer, including the hours-long "true ending."

Don't believe me? Here's a bit of photographic proof:



For those of you who've yet to play 999, an icon is added to the game's opening screen whenever you wrap up one of its six endings.

Even with 999's fast-forward function--which lets you race through text you've already encountered--finishing the game six (or, in my case, five) times can take a long time.

How long? Check out the next photo, which shows off how many hours I spent with 999 in the last few weeks:



Have any of you also played--and fully finished--999? If so, can you shed any light on its true ending? Some of it seemed to make sense, but the rest of it was brain-meltingly confusing.

One last comment-slash-question before I hit "publish": that last interactive section of the true ending is shockingly beautiful, don't you think?

See also: #ADecadeofDS (9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors) and Nice Package! (9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors, DS)