Saturday, May 28, 2016

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?

Thursday, May 26, 2016

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.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

A new Famicom game is coming and it's called Kira Kira Star Night DX

Who could've imagined we'd see new Famicom cartridges be produced and released 13 years after Nintendo officially discontinued its first real console?

I certainly didn't see such a thing coming, and yet here we are--thanks to a company known as Columbus Circle.

Actually, some of you've probably heard of Columbus Circle, or at least you may know one of its previous products: the 8bit Music Power Famicom cart.

I didn't buy that offering, but I'm seriously contemplating picking up the publisher's next one, which appears to be some sort of score-attack action-platformer.



This despite the fact that Kira Kira Star Night DX is far from the prettiest Famicom game I've ever seen. I like its color palette and its use of parallax scrolling, though, and Yuzo Koshiro had a hand in creating its soundtrack, so I still think its worth considering.

If you feel similarly, you might want to keep these details in mind: physical copies of Kira Kira Star Night DX are set to hit the streets in late July and when they do they'll cost 5,378 yen (about $50) each.

No word yet on where you'll be able to purchase these suckers, but I have a feeling amiami.com will be one option.

(Via japanesenintendo.com)

Sunday, May 22, 2016

CIB Sunday: Hyakumanton no Bara Bara (PSP)

If you regularly peruse any of the many social-media apps or sites available to the masses these days, you've probably come across #CIBSunday.

Don't worry if you haven't, as it's easy enough to explain. Basically, folks publish photos of complete-in-box copies of games and then include in their tweets or posts the hashtag mentioned above.

I participate in this "event" pretty much every weekend on Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter. For some strange reason, though, I've never extended that participation to this blog. Until today, of course.

Will I continue to do so in weeks, months and years to come? Who knows. I'll do my best to keep it up, though--and I'll certainly whip up a post here whenever I think I've got a nice photo to show off, or some related content to recommend.



With that out of the way, what do you think about the snapshot of Hyakumanton no Bara Bara for PSP that can be seen above?

Hyakumanton no Bara Bara not ring a bell for you? How about Patchwork Heroes? That's what this Acquire-made title, which plays like an inverted version of Taito's Qix, was named outside of Japan.

If you'd like to see more photos of Hyakumanton no Bara Bara's lovely case, cover art, instruction manual and UMD, by the way, check out this "Nice Package!" write-up I published last year. Also, read my review of Hyakumanton no Bara Bara (or, rather, Patchwork Heroes).

Are any of you fans of this 2010 release? If so, please share your love of it in the comments section that follows.