My favorite game of 2016: Pocket Card Jockey

How on earth could I name Game Freak's Pocket Card Jockey my favorite game of the year?

It was a pretty easy decision to make, actually. After all, I played this 3DS eShop game more than I played any other in 2016. Just as importantly, I enjoyed playing it more than I enjoyed playing any other game over the last 12 months.

As for what prompted me to play and enjoy Pocket Card Jockey so much in that time, that's not so easy to explain. Why? A lot of praiseworthy components are packed into the game, so summarizing them requires more than a quippy sentence or two. Still, I should be able to do it in a handful of paragraphs.

For starters, the best thing about Pocket Card Jockey--and the aspect that caused me to devote more than 60 hours to it in 2016 (and put just as many hours into the Japanese version, Solitiba, in 2015)--is its addictive nature.

Meaning, of course, it's one of those games--like, say, Tetris or solitaire or mahjong--that you pick up when you have a few free minutes, and before you know it you've sunk an hour or two (or more) into it.

Granted, Pocket Card Jockey is one part solitaire (golf solitaire, to be more specific) and one part horse breeding and racing, so I guess its addictiveness probably shouldn't have come as such a surprise. (To learn more about how this game plays, read my Pocket Card Jockey review from a few months ago.)

Another reason this title is so marvelously compelling: its soundtrack. I fully understand if you assumed a digital 3DS game filled with cards and thoroughbreds would feature subpar music, but that's far from the reality of the situation. You can thank composer Go Ichinose (of Pokémon fame) for that. The jazzy, catchy tunes he created for Pocket Card Jockey not only get you in the mood to play as long as your eyes--or, in my case, your husband--will allow, but they also worm their way into your brain to the point you'll likely find yourself humming them at the most random times.

Does Pocket Card Jockey look great, and is that also partially responsible for why I'm declaring it to be my favorite game of 2016? Obviously. The same can be said of its controls, by the way, which work well and put the 3DS' many input methods to good use.

At the end of the day, though, it's how developer Game Freak deftly combined all of the above-mentioned elements that made me choose Pocket Card Jockey as my favorite game released this year. Everything meshes so well you revel in the overall experience while playing it rather than obsess about--or even notice--individual components like graphics and music.

With all that out of the way, do yourself a favor and grab your 3DS, buy this game from the eShop (current price: $6.99--believe me, it's worth every penny) and give it a whirl. Oh, and read through my Pocket Card Jockey guide if you want to fill your trophy case.

Just in case you still need a little push RE: buying Pocket Card Jockey for 3DS

I've got Pocket Card Jockey on the brain, I know. Hell, it could be argued I've gone far that point since I first picked up the Japanese version of the game--called SolitiBa in that part of the world--just over three years ago.

After all, in that time I've published a review of this Game Freak-made 3DS eShop title, a guide that offers up advice on how to improve your results and a slew of other posts about it.

Something I haven't expended much text on, though, it Pocket Card Jockey's soundtrack. It's sublime--and that's not an overstatement.

Don't believe me? Check out its best tune, "Funky Monkey Style."



Pretty awesome, right? Admittedly, it's probably not what you imagined when you learned that SolitiBa-slash-Pocket Card Jockey combined horse racing and solitaire.

Go Ichinose is the man who composed it. Name ring a bell? Makes sense, especially if you're a Pokémon fan. (He's had a hand in creating music for almost all of that series' games, plus the GameBoy Advance gem known as Drill Dozer.)

Now that you're smitten, come back to this post and let me know in its comments section how much you love Pocket Card Jockey after you've spent a couple of hours (or more) with it.

(Via TronKnotts)

The Great Gaymathon Review #74: Pocket Card Jockey (3DS)

Game: Pocket Card Jockey

Genre: Puzzle

Developer: Game Freak

Publisher: Nintendo

System: 3DS (eShop)

Release date: 2016

You know a game is full-on bonkers when even telling someone it combines solitaire and horse racing doesn't convey how bonkers it is.

I'm sure some of you are wondering, can a title produced by the folks (at Game Freak) who gave the world the decidedly tame Pokémon series really be all that bonkers?

Consider that a proper Pocket Card Jockey playthrough means encountering and experiencing all of the following:

* getting trampled to death by an adorable peg-legged horse
* hyping up your solitaire skills while begging an angel to send you back to earth
* coming up with silly names for steeds of all shapes (one has a fiery mane, one looks like a dragon, one is dressed like a ninja, one seems to be a robot) and colors
* breeding those equines to produce offspring that are faster, more resilient and, hopefully, have a better temperament than their parents
* racing all of the above for a colorful cast of managers (including a spoiled rich kid with a pompadour, an effervescent pop idol and an evil scientist)

Oh, and last bullet point involves quickly clearing a series of golf solitaire tableaus--which also is pretty bonkers, if you ask me.

Of course, none of the wackiness described above means much if the rest of what’s on offer is a bore. Thankfully, it’s not. In fact, Pocket Card Jockey is as addictively and delightfully fun as it is brilliantly weird.

It’s like Tetris in that it’s the kind of game that prompts you tell yourself, “just one more race. OK, maybe two more.” And the next thing you know, you have no idea where the last couple of hours went.

That’s due, in large part, to how adroitly Game Freak's designers were able to turn Pocket Card Jockey's many disparate elements into a bite-sized title that's far more than the sum of its parts.

Actually, it goes beyond that. They also were able to combine this game's many components in such a way that you rarely think of them as separate entities. Rather than thinking of this as a solitaire game or a horse-racing or -breeding game, Pocket Card Jockey is very much its own thing--kind of like how the Famicom Disk System title, Otocky, is its own thing despite blending the shmup and rhythm genres.

All that said, more than a few of this title's elements deserve to be singled out for praise. One is its overall art style, which is about as adorable and appealing as can be. Another is its control scheme, which relies almost entirely on the 3DS' touch screen--and to great effect. Its localized text, which is both darker and wittier than most will expect from a Game Freak-made release, is similarly on-point. Finally, there's its soundtrack, which may be the best to appear in a 3DS game yet.

As for Pocket Card Jockey's negative aspects, I honestly can't think of any at the moment. Some may point to the abundance of text that's offered up here, or the fact that it becomes a tad repetitive over time, but I personally don't consider them to be worthy of complaint.

If you absolutely need me to rip on some portion of Pocket Card Jockey, this will have to do: should you be anything like me, you'll put a lot of time into this digital title. Don't believe me? Consider that I spent about 70 hours with the Japanese version of the game and I've spent nearly as many hours with its North American counterpart.

In other words, you probably won't regret spending just under $7 on it--unless, I guess, you have an extreme distaste for anything that can be described as "bonkers."

See also: my Pocket Card Jockey guide and my previous 'Great Gaymathon' reviews

How to succeed in Pocket Card Jockey without really trying (or, here's what you should do if you suck at this quirky 3DS eShop title)

I've put over 60 hours into Pocket Card Jockey so far, and I previously put more than 60 hours into its Japanese counterpart, so I guess you could say I know this strange 3DS offering pretty well.

That’s not to suggest I'm some sort of Solitiba (that's the game's Japanese title) expert, mind you. Still, I’ve won more races than I’ve lost in during my 120-plus-hour playthrough, and I’ve also nabbed trophies at the majority of the title’s premier-level G1 events. As such, I’m OK with saying I’ve developed a better-than-adequate understanding of Pocket Card Jockey since I first booted up the Japanese version of the game three years ago.

If you've only just begun this digital oddity, or if you're a veteran of it in terms of playtime but not in terms of results, I think you’ll find this post full of Pocket Card Jockey tips and tricks helpful.

Practice really does make perfect--None of the advice that follows will make a lick of difference if you're rarely able to complete Pocket Card Jockey's solitaire rounds. So, if you suck at golf solitaire, do one or both of these things: restart your game and go through its opening tutorial as many times as is needed for you to feel comfortable with its oft-confusing components. Or, take advantage of the training mode that’s accessible via the main menu screen. I actually put a few minutes into the latter every time I boot up this Game Freak-made title—both to warm me up a bit and to give myself the best possible chance of winning a bunch of races once I transition to the real deal.

Focus from the word go--At the beginning of a race (during the "Start Solitaire" phase), keep a close eye on the cards that fall from the top of the screen. Specifically, do your best to not lose sight of the card that contains five blue spheres. Then, aim for it to get the best possible start—which in the case of Pocket Card Jockey means kicking things off with as much "Unity Power" as you can. That said, don't dally. It’s better to choose a less desirable card (one with fewer than five spheres on it) and earn a less impressive start than it is to not choose one at all and face a miserable start from which you and your foal probably won’t be able to recover.

Know when to stick to your comfort zone and when to stray from it--When I first published this post a couple of weeks ago, I suggested ignoring the advice shared in the game's tutorial, which posits that players should do their best to stick to Comfort Zone Lv. 3 while on the racetrack. I said that because although aiming for Comfort Zone Lv. 3 can pay off dearly (you enter the invincible-esque “Super Unity” mode by successfully clearing the solitaire tableau), it also can cause you and your trusty steed to quickly crash and burn. Why? The solitaire rounds within Comfort Zone Lv. 3 are the toughest to complete (those in Comfort Zone Lv. 1 are the easiest), and if you leave too many cards on the table, so to speak, you risk finding yourself atop a runaway horse. As a result, I initially thought it was best to stay within Comfort Zone Lv. 2 as much as possible due to the fact that the solitaire hands there are more difficult than those in Comfort Zone Lv. 1 but are more lenient than those in Comfort Zone Lv. 3. Later, I amended that recommendation to "somewhere between 50 and 75 percent of the time."

My current opinion on the matter is that you should aim for Comfort Zone Lv. 3 as often as you're able--as long as your solitaire skills are up to snuff. Doing so lets you rapidly build up your "Energy" meter and also allows you to suck up as many special item cards as possible--both of which play an important role in winning races. If you have a hard time clearing the solitaire tableaus in Comfort Zone Lv. 3, though, avoid this strategy. Instead, try this: move into Comfort Zone Lv. 3 while on the straightaways, and transition into Comfort Zone Lv. 2 whenever you start to round a corner.

Don't put the card before the horse--During a race, grab as many of the horseshoe and lightbulb cards as you can--they're the only way to level-up your horse and increase its speed, strength and skills, after all--but don't go crazy. Sometimes they're enticingly placed in positions (within the jagged red-orange-yellow portions of the track) that will leave you vulnerable—aka, hit you with a "turning loss"—while rounding a bend. Speaking of that fiery curtain that descends onto the field every few rounds, feel free to venture onto it after you clear a hand of solitaire while in Comfort Zone Lv. 2 or 3, as this is the only time you can do so without being penalized.

Boost or bust--One of the keys to winning Pocket Card Jockey's tougher races is to pick up at least one of the boost cards (the ones with a blue flame in the center) as you gallop around the track. They provide you with some additional oomph during the home stretch and can be the difference between coming in first and missing out on it by a nose. A related piece of advice here: use your boost cards as soon as possible on the straightaway. Just make sure the no other horses are in your way before you hit the associated button, as although these cards are supposed to let you push them out of the way, they don't do it 100 percent of the time in my experience.

Boxes are for video games, not jockeys and ponies--Just before the homestretch, make sure your horse is in a position that makes it unlikely it’ll get boxed in by its competitors. Usually this means moving it to a higher spot on the track (as opposed to hugging the inside edge). Being surrounded by other steeds isn’t such a big deal if you manage to snag one or two of the above-mentioned boost cards that pop up each race, as they help you break through such bottlenecks. Fail to grab one, though, and you can kiss the current race goodbye if you find yourself tied up.

I can't believe I'm suggesting this, but save your spending cash for the $10,000 puzzle pieces--Early on, it makes sense to spend some of your winnings on the items--carrots, gloves, riding crops--sold at Chirp's Happy Horses shop. They can give you the edge you need to place in those initial races. Later on, though, Chirp's prices go through the roof. Should you still buy one of the above-mentioned products when they cost $10,000 or even $30,000? Not in my opinion. Instead, I suggest saving up your dough until you have enough to buy one or more puzzle pieces. Without spoiling anything, they'll end up providing you with bigger boosts than the above-mentioned accessories ever will. At least, that is, until you complete all of Pocket Card Jockey's puzzles. Once you do that, stop buying pieces and blow your hard-earned cash on carrots, gloves and the like, especially before you're tossed into one of the title's G1 races.

Just breed--Although it's possible to take one of the game's generic steeds and turn it into one that runs away with the King's Gate trophy, that's far more likely to happen if you spend some time breeding your best stallions and mares. Don't just randomly pair up two of them, though; choose two that have similar characteristics and peak times, have won a ton of races or have the best stats and skills. They will produce the most powerful foals. Also, keep your eye out for offspring who have one, two or three stars in their bios. These fillies and colts are the strongest, so include them in the equation whenever possible.

This ain't no place for ageist jockeys--I've read quite a few comments on line that recommend passing on Pocket Card Jockey's mature mode and instead focusing on its growth mode. I disagree. A lot of good can be gained from the former, even if it doesn't help you level-up your current undulate. First, it allows you to win more money that can be blown on the pricey puzzle pieces mentioned above. Second, it lets you win more races. In particular, it lets you bolster your collection of GI trophies--and that's what you need to do if you want your horses to retire champions. Which you do want, of course, as the easiest way to produce the best Pocket Card Jockey companions is to breed champions after they've been sent to the farm.

Are any of you also enjoying--or at least playing--Pocket Card Jockey? If so, please let me know in the comments section below if you agree or disagree any of the pointers I've shared above. Also feel free to share your own tips and tricks related to this 3DS game.

See also: previous Solitiba and Pocket Card Jockey posts

You bought Pocket Card Jockey from the 3DS eShop yesterday, right?

Those of who without a 3DS probably are thinking, what, you want all of us to buy it, too?

Actually, I do. Granted, I'd suggest picking up a 3DS system beforehand--you know, so you can actually play it--but once you've taken care of that little detail, yes, I think you should purchase this wonderfully charming and surprisingly deep game.

For the rest of you, if you haven't yet nabbed the Game Freak-made Pocket Card Jockey from the 3DS eShop--publisher Nintendo put it up for sale, carrying a $6.99 price tag, yesterday--what's holding you back?

If it's that you aren't sure you'll enjoy it, well, I can understand that--to a point. After all, it isn't every day that you're presented with a game that dares to combine (golf) solitaire with a horse-racing sim.



That said, a Pocket Card Jockey demo has been available for more than a week now. (I wrote about it here, in case anyone is interested.) It's free and offers 15 plays, which is more than enough to figure out of its strangely addictive gameplay is your cup of tea or not.

And if that's not enough for you? Read this old post of mine. Don't fret that it says it's about a game called Solitiba; that's just Pocket Card Jockey's original Japanese title.

Anyway, in that write-up I blather on a bit about the five things I like best about digital time-waster. (I mean that in the best possible way, naturally.) I barf up some similar statements at the end of this post, by the way--in case you're looking for more encouragement.

If you're not, because Pocket Card Jockey's already taking up space on your 3DS' memory card, please share your impressions of it in the comments section below.

Drop whatever you're doing and download the Pocket Card Jockey 3DS demo now

When a little game called Solitiba hit the Japanese 3DS eShop back in July of 2013, I snapped it up as soon as I could.

I did that for a few reasons. One, I knew the title had been made by the folks at Game Freak—best known, of course, for the world-conquering Pokémon series. Two, it had previously made headlines for attempting to combine two disparate genres: horse racing and puzzlers (solitaire, specifically).

Add to that Solitiba’s undeniably adorable art style and, well, you’ve basically got a game that’s “right up my alley,” as that stale old saying goes.

How far up my alley is it? Well, I’ve since put more than 60 hours into it so far, if that tells you anything.

On a related note, I've already put about three hours into the demo of Solitiba's North American localization--which is known as Pocket Card Jockey in this neck of the woods. (Actually, I believe that's the name it goes by in every region outside of Japan.)

Which means, of course, that I'm enjoying the English version of the game quite a bit. OK, I'm enjoying it a lot.

It's not perfect, mind you. A case in point: the text seems a bit stilted at times, as if the people who worked on that aspect of the game hewed more closely to the original script than maybe they should have done.

Granted, the powers that be at Nintendo probably didn't want to devote tons of time, money or energy to this project, and its localization team was tasked with translating a ton of text, so I won't be too tough on anyone for that slight miscue.

At any rate, I highly recommend downloading the Pocket Card Jockey 3DS demo as soon as you're able. And after you've played it for a while, come back here and tell me what you think of it. (Also, if you need advice, just ask. I'm more than happy to help.)

See also: 'Five reasons it's a shame Game Freak hasn't yet released its quirky 3DS eShop title, Solitiba, outside of Japan'

Giddyup! Game Freak's Solitiba will gallop its way onto the North American 3DS eShop this May as Pocket Card Jockey

For a lot of folks, the highlight of yesterday's North American Nintendo Direct was the surprise announcement that a new Kirby 3DS game--its subtitle is Planet Robobot--is going to hit digital and retail store shelves in this part of the world on June 10.

Others swooned over the fact that Monster Hunter X and Genei Ibunroku #FE are heading our way this summer, too. (The former's localized name is Monster Hunter: Generations, while the latter's is Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE.)

And of course a bunch of people turned their eyes to the heavens--or something of that sort--when they heard Nintendo of America's Bill Trinen say the company's Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus will be released (as Rhythm Heaven Megamix) here "later this year."

Although I found myself grinning--broadly--following each of those reveals, the one that prompted the most joyous reaction from me was this one:



Yes, the game showcased in the video above is a localized version of one of my most-loved Japanese 3DS titles, Solitiba.

In fact, I loved it so much I put nearly 60 hours into it in 2014 alone. (See why that is in my "Five reasons it's a shame Game Freak hasn't yet released Solitiba outside of Japan" post.)

That Game Freak-made head-scratcher--it deftly combines elements of both horse racing and golf solitaire--galloped its way onto that region's 3DS eShop all the way back in 2013, by the way. Which means I've been waiting quite a long time to play it in a language I fully understand.

Are any of you in the same boat? Even if you aren't, are you at all curious to give this kooky game a try?

See also: previous posts about Solitiba

Random musings on the other games that were and weren't mentioned during last week's Nintendo Direct broadcasts

The trio of Nintendo Direct broadcasts that aired a couple of days ago featured a bunch of wonderful looking games.

Two of them: localized versions of the 3DS iterations of Dragon Quest VII and VIII, which amazingly are being brought to both Europe and North America by Nintendo at some point in 2016.

Of course, Nintendo also ignored a bunch of 3DS and Wii U games during these latest Directs.

Speaking of which, here are a few thoughts on some of the ones that actually earned a mention as well as some of the ones I wish had been mentioned.

First, the chatter about the ones that were given a nod:

Bravely Second (3DS)

Bravely Second: End Layer--Unfortunately for North Americans like myself who are chomping at the bit to play the English version of this Bravely Default sequel, the only attention Second received in the Nintendo Direct aimed at our neck of the woods was a sentence or two. Still, among those few words was a promise that the game would hit store shelves here this coming spring, so I won't complain too loudly about that oversight. (If you call Europe home, you'll be able to get your hands on Bravely Second within the first three months of 2016.) Anyway, although I would've loved a specific release date or glimpse of the title's Western box art, I'm happy we at least were given confirmation it'll be out soon.

Final Fantasy Explorers--I've had the North American version of this 3DS-based MonHun wannabe pre-ordered for some time now, so it would've really sucked if I thought the footage included in this Direct was subpar to the point of turning me off of the game entirely. Delightfully, that wasn't the case. In fact, the gameplay showcased here made me even more interested in this title than I was earlier. Sure, it's more than a little rough around the edges, with low-poly character models and a shockingly iffy frame rate, but even then it looks like good fun to me. The question is, do I keep my pre-order in place for the standard edition, or do I cancel it so I can go for the pricey collector's edition instead?

Fire Emblem Fates (3DS)

Fire Emblem Fates--This is another 3DS title I pre-ordered a while back. Did the snazzy special edition, which features all three versions of the game (Birthright, Conquest and the digital-only Revelation) as well as an art book and a carrying pouch, prompt me to ditch that "standard" copy in favor of this $80 counterpart? Nope. Don't get me wrong, the Fire Emblem Fates SE sounds awesome, but I've only played about seven hours of Fire Emblem Awakening thus far, so I don't think I need to own three different iterations of its follow-up. Or at least I don't need to own all three right from the get-go.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD--Ah, a Wii U game. Finally! Sadly, unlike a lot of people, I don't find this one all that appealing--and I would say that even if I actually owned a Wii U system. That's not a rip on Twilight Princess, mind you; rather, it's more of a comment on how I feel about the Zelda series as a whole these days. In other words, if we're not talking about throwback games like A Link Between Worlds (which I adored), I just can't muster up much interest.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam (3DS)

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam--If you'd like, you can take some of what I just said about Twilight Princess HD (the part about not being able to muster up much interest, mainly) and use it here, too. Why? For starters, the Mario & Luigi series has never really done it for me, especially from an aesthetics standpoint. I'm feeling similarly apathetic about the Paper Mario series these days--which is a shame, as I loved its first two entries for the Nintendo 64 and GameCube. Both Super Paper Mario for Wii and Sticker Star for 3DS ended up boring me to tears, though, and none of what I've seen of Paper Jam makes me think it'll provoke a more positive reaction, so until and unless that changes, this game is getting a "hell no" from yours truly.

Pokémon Blue, Red and Yellow--It's about time, Nintendo. It's about time. Why the company decided to wait until the end of the 3DS' life to add this trio of classic RPGs to the system's Virtual Console is beyond me. Did it have something to do with Nintendo's crack team of engineers figuring out how to make it so gamers could swap monsters, which most folks surely consider to be a staple of this decades-old series? Maybe. Whatever the case may be, I'm glad I'll finally be able to try my hand at Yellow. I finished Red way back when, and later picked up a copy of Blue, too, but Yellow's always been a mystery to me. Hopefully the wait will have been worth it.

A couple of Katamari Damacy + Solitiba doodles for anyone who cares

So, I recently started doodling again.

Not that I ever meant to stop, mind you--or not that I made some sort of specific pact with myself to stop, at least.

In fact, I can't remember when my "doodling" trailed off, although I'm pretty sure it was more than a year ago.

As for why this happened, I can only guess at this point, but I have a feeling I simply ran out of ideas. 

My brain recently became flooded with ideas, though, thanks to a project I'm working on for the technical writing certificate program I'm taking through the Seattle branch of the University of Washington. 

Specifically, I'm working on a "quick-reference guide" for the weird Game Freak-developed and -published 3DS (and iOS) title that has gotten so much attention here in the last six months or so, Solitiba. 

Although the focus of this document is its text--which is supposed to help people understand and remember the nuances of the various "phases" associated with Solitiba's racing segments--I want to make it visually appealing, too, so I decided a couple of weekends ago to whip up a few drawings that could be snuggled within all of the letters and punctuation.

My first creation wasn't a total success. (Check it out here, if you're feeling adventurous.) Later efforts were a lot better, though, if I do say so myself.

I don't know if I'd say this is an example of the latter, but I also wouldn't call it a complete turd. Granted, it was a quick-and-dirty sketch produced as a sort of placeholder image for my guide's cover. (In the end, I decided to go with something else.)

I like the doodle, above, a lot more. Of course, what's not to like about a cute little horse with a sparkly mane and stubby legs that's attempting (not very successfully, mind you) to play solitaire?

This drawing, on the other hand, is supposed to depict a similarly stylized undulate teetering atop a house of cards (or, "Horse of Cards," which is the name I gave to this image when I published it on deviantart a couple of days ago).

Had enough of my Solitiba-inspired illustrations (if they can even be called that)? How about a Katamari Damacy-inspired illustration? I concocted it after one of my new colleagues wore a Katamari-branded t-shirt to work last Friday.

I have a feeling Katamari Damacy's denizens usually don't alter their antennae like this one has, but what can you do?

Anyway, if you like any or all of the doodles shared here, you may want to head over to my deviantart gallery and take a gander the handful of others I've generated in the last few years.

See also: previous posts about Solitiba

Here's how I spent my 2014 (3DS edition)

In case any of you are wondering: no, I won't be publishing other editions of this "series," as none of the other systems I used in 2014 were capable of recording how many hours I spent playing games on them.

At any rate, here's how much time I spent playing various 3DS games in 2014 (as per the "Activity Log" files on my Japanese and North American systems):

• Tomodachi Life ... 127:43
• Bravely Default ... 99:45
• Fantasy Life ... 88:08
• Etrian Odyssey IV ... 59:20
• Solitiba ... 57:30
• THE "DENPA" MEN 3 ... 42:19
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds ... 20:30
• Yoshi's New Island ... 12:31
• Super Mario 3D Land ... 12:10
• Rusty's Real Deal Baseball ... 6:30

The only "results" that surprised me were Etrian Odyssey IV and Rusty's Real Deal Baseball, as I had no idea I spent so much time with either title. Also, I'm kind of shocked I've yet to put more than six hours and 30 minutes into Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest 3. I guess that means I have to devote a bit more time to it in the coming days and weeks.

One last tidbit some of you may find interesting: apparently I spent just over 580 hours playing 62 "titles" (which includes the eShop, Activity Log and other apps, by the way) on my pair of 3DS systems in 2014.

Now that I've shared how I spent my 2014 (in regard to 3DS gaming, at least), please feel free to share how you spent yours in the comments section of this post.

My favorite games of 2014 (that were released before 2014)

As much as I enjoyed playing through the handful of titles discussed in yesterday's "favorite games of 2014" post, I found the ones addressed below--some of which were released in 2013 and some of which were released long ago--to be far more adventurous, unique and exciting experiences.

Attack of the Friday Monsters! (3DS)--One part "summer vacation sim" and one part rock-paper-scissors card game, this Kaz Ayabe-designed eShop title is the kind of release that causes some people to proclaim it the best thing since sliced bread (or the gaming equivalent, at least) and others to deride it as boring tripe. Can you guess which side I lean toward? Actually, I wouldn't call Attack of the Friday Monsters! a masterpiece, but it certainly deserves praise for providing the medium with a thoughtful and heartwarming story and for prompting feelings of nostalgia where they have no right to exist.

EarthBound (SNES)--Would you believe that I'd never "beaten" this classic RPG before this year? I'd played through bits and pieces of it before then, but none of those previous playthroughs got me even halfway through its story. I'm glad I finally got over that hurdle in 2014, as this is the rare digital adventure that somehow, someway gets more fascinating and thrilling with each and every step. In fact, I loved the time I put into Shigesato Itoi's second foray into the world of video games in 2014 so much that I'm considering devoting a similar amount of energy to it this year.

Final Fantasy Adventure (GameBoy)--Here's another game that I touched on as a teen but failed to complete until 2014. And just like the above-mentioned EarthBound, once I finally sunk my teeth into this portable endeavor I couldn't help but kick myself for not making my way through it earlier. Of course, it's kind of hard to believe I didn't make my way through it earlier, as it's basically a GameBoy-based precursor to Secret of Mana (which means it's equal parts Final Fantasy and The Legend of Zelda), a game that I all but offered my soul to in the early 1990s. Sadly, I still haven't seen Final Fantasy Adventure's credit roll, but I'm going to do my best to rectify that in 2015.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS)--Speaking of games that have prompted me to kick myself in 2014, a good part of me wishes I could go back in time and purchase A Link Between Worlds earlier than I did, as it really should have been among my "favorite games of 2013 (that were released in 2013)." Oh, well, better later than never, right? Anyway, A Link Between Worlds is the best, most refreshing Zelda offering I've encountered since I first obsessed over Ocarina of Time back in 1998. The highlight of this tightly produced package, in the opinion of yours truly: the combat, which feels so good that it's easy to forget you're nudging a circle pad and pressing buttons rather than actually racing around and swinging a sword with all of your might.

Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest 3 (3DS)--Considering how much I loved (more like frothed at the mouth over) Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest 2, aka Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime, it's almost unfathomable that I waited until just a few weeks ago to begin its 3DS-focused follow-up. That inexcusable feet-dragging can be blamed, at least in part, on this game's not-so-appealing aesthetics, although now that I've gotten used to them I can say without hesitation that they're less atrocious than they first appear to be. There are other flaws worth mentioning here, too, such as how Slime MoriMori 3's gameplay is nearly a mirror image of its predecessor, but none of them really matter thanks to the fact that the overall enterprise is just as fun as Square Enix's earlier effort.

Solitiba (3DS)--When I first heard that this Game Freak-developed eShop title would combine horse racing and solitaire, I was more than a bit disappointed. Granted, I was glad it wasn't going to be yet another Pokémon sequel or spin-off, but I wasn't sure this confounding mash-up would be a whole lot better. Boy, was I wrong. Every single element of Solitiba is so spot-on that the entire endeavor winds up being thoroughly entrancing. In fact, I've had a hard time putting it aside for other games since I started playing it a number of months ago--which goes a long way toward explaining how I could've put nearly 60 hours into it in such a short period of time.

Sweet Fuse: At Your Side (PSP)--To be honest, even after being convinced (by the overwhelmingly positive word of mouth attached to it) to pick up a copy of this portable visual novel, I wasn't at all sure I'd like it. My only prior experience with the genre involved playing through another PSP title, Hakuōki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom, and while I found that game to be surprisingly fascinating, I worried it would be difficult to replicate those feelings with this seemingly less serious counterpart. I needn't have fretted, of course, because Sweet Fuse is every bit as captivating as Hakuōki, if not more so. I'm still not a fan of how such games basically force players to use a walkthrough if they want to wind up with the men of their dreams, but even with that "requirement" in place Sweet Fuse is well worth a look if you find its premise at all intriguing.

Honorable mentions: Etrian Odyssey IV (3DS), Taiyou no Tenshi Marlowe (GameBoy) and Zoo Keeper 3D (3DS)

Shall We Do It? (Fantasy Life, Final Fantasy Explorers Light and Solitiba)

There's a reason I haven't published one of these posts in some time. (Not since Oct. 14, in fact.) Actually, there are two reasons, with one being the North American 3DS title, Fantasy Life, and the other being the Japanese 3DS eShop title, Solitiba.

Although I've put far more time into the former than the latter in the last month and a half, I've gotten such a kick out of playing both of them that no other game has been able to steal my attention away from them.

Well, that's not completely true. I forced myself to download the Japanese demo of Square Enix's Final Fantasy Explorers (called Final Fantasy Explorers Light) a weekend or so ago, after all, and even gave it a few plays before stuffing it into a folder somewhere and moving back to Fantasy Life and Solitiba.

Anyway, keep reading if you'd like to read a few more of my thoughts on this trio of 3DS games.



Fantasy Life--You want to know how completely this recent Level-5 release has me wrapped around its finger? I've put 76 hours into it so far, that's how completely.

Actually, I probably should've said "had" rather than "has" in the sentence above, as I haven't booted up Fantasy Life since I played it for about four hours while flying from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Seattle last Friday. Don't worry, I'll get back to it shortly. After all, I've loved pretty much every minute of it so far--and I've spent a lot of minutes with it.

I've accomplished a lot during all those minutes (and hours) of play, of course, although I've yet to finish the game's main story. I believe I'm nearly there, though, so expect me to wrap it up between now and the next time I publish one of these posts.

The fact is, though, that most of what Fantasy Life has to offer people happens outside the confines of its main story--or, rather, happens while the main story is "on pause," so to speak. In my case, for instance, the majority of my experience with the game has been spent leveling up various "lives"--to the point that I've now spent a good amount of time with eight of the 12 jobs included here. (All of them have been brought up to "Hero" level except blacksmith, which is only up to "Master.") My favorites at the moment: archer and angler, I think, although I honestly get a kick out of all of them.

I still find Fantasy Life's verbose nature to be a bit annoying, by the way, but it's easy enough to skip through all of the blather, so don't worry about it too much if you're on the fence about buying the game.



Final Fantasy Explorers Light--Although I downloaded this demo of Square Enix's upcoming Final Fantasy spin-off (for the 3DS) as soon as it was uploaded to the Japanese eShop, I put off playing it until a couple of days ago due to the fact that I've been luke warm (at best) on its art style ever since I first laid eyes on it a few months back.

Which is a shame, as now that I've spent some time with the game and seen its graphics in motion, it really doesn't look all that bad. It also doesn't look stellar, mind you, but it looks better than I thought it would based on my first impressions.

As for the gameplay, all I've gathered so far is that it's quest-heavy--it's similar to the Bravely Default demo, in that regard--and vaguely Monster Hunter-esque, although I hesitate to say the latter as Final Fantasy Explorers seems a lot less strategic than Capcom's money-maker.

I'm going to play Light for a little longer before making a decision about the full game, but I've got to admit that at the moment I'm leaning toward not picking it up--assuming Square Enix even bothers to release it in North America. (Because there's no way I'm importing and playing through the Japanese release.)

In a way, I kind of hope the remainder of my time with Light prompts a change of heart, because for some weird reason I really want to like it--even with its questionable art style. Why couldn't the artist responsible for, say, the original Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles have worked on this sucker?



Solitiba--I actually stepped away from this (sadly) Japan-only offering after putting about 35 hours into it. Not because I was tired of it, mind you, but because my copy of Fantasy Life arrived and I was just a bit more desperate to play it than I was to continue playing Solitba.

Now that I'm taking a bit of a breather from Fantasy Life, though, I have plenty of "brain bandwidth" to devote to Solitiba again.

In case you haven't gathered already, this is one of those games that latches onto you and refuses to let go without a proper fight. I guess that could be due to the fact solitaire is such a prominent part of it--and solitaire's right up there with games like Tetris when it comes to sucking you in and wasting more of your time than you thought it would, although of course it could be argued that one is a bit less exciting than the other--but I don't think that's entirely what's going on here.

No, I think the real reason Solitiba is so easy to pick up, and so hard to put down, is that all of its elements--the solitaire portions, the horse-racing segments, the magnificent art style, Game Freak's "golden touch"--combine and conspire to produce a whole that's far more enticing than the sum of these aforementioned parts.

As a result, I really hope the folks at Game Freak--or Nintendo, or some other publisher--are toiling away on English and other language versions of Solitiba, because I honestly consider it to be a gem that people all around the world, and not just those in Japan (or those, like me, who own Japanese 3DS systems), should be given an chance to experience.

See also: previous 'Shall We Do It?' posts

Hold on to your hats, ladies and gents--a new episode of The Nichiest Podcast Ever is here

Can you believe it? The Nichiest Podcast Ever is back, and only four months have passed since its last episode appeared, fully formed, as from the head of Zeus (or something like that), on the World Wide Web.

OK, so four months actually is kind of a long time. Still, there have been far bigger gaps between Nichiest Podcast Ever recordings than that in the past, so I guess we (Anne, shidoshi and myself) shouldn't be too hard on ourselves.

Anyway, as is typically the case, the three of us cover the niche-gaming gamut in this particular 'cast. Among the topics of discussion: shidoshi's experience at this year's Tokyo Game Show, all of our impressions and opinions of the just-released (in some parts of the world) PlayStation TV and new 3DS systems and the miraculous appearance of Vib Ribbon on the North American PlayStation Store.

We also chat about Solitiba (aka Soliti Horse), Mini Metro, Fantasy Life, Bayonetta 2 and Banshee’s Last Cry, a Chunsoft-made "sound novel" that began life (in the mid-1990s) as a Japan-only title--for the Super Famicom, PlayStation and GameBoy Advance--but earned a worldwide iOS release earlier this year via Aksys Games. Can you guess which ones I personally talked up?

Should any of you want to give it a listen, you can do so via iTunes or radio.morningproject.com.

Also, some of you may be interested to hear that, moving forward, the three of us are looking to record a new episode on the first Tuesday of every month. Here's hoping we're actually able to stick with that plan.

See also: 'Five reasons it's a shame Game Freak hasn't yet released its quirky 3DS eShop title, Solitiba (aka Soliti Horse), outside of Japan' and 'I've spent two weeks with Fantasy Life (3DS) and here's what I think of it so far'

Five reasons it's a shame Game Freak hasn't yet released its quirky 3DS eShop title, Solitiba (aka Soliti Horse), outside of Japan

How do I love thee, Solitiba (aka Soliti Horse)? Let me count the ways.

Actually, let me count the hours--as in, the hours I've spent playing this Japan-only, Game Freak-made 3DS eShop title that, as I'm sure you've heard me say before, adds a bit of zip to the traditionally staid horse-racing genre by infusing it with some lightning-fast rounds of solitaire.

The tally so far, by the way, would be just under 25 hours. That's how long I've played Solitiba, I mean. Which, admittedly, is a bit ... extreme. What can I say? I'm enjoying the hell out of it.

Which is why, as I state in the header above, it's a damn shame this game has yet to be released outside of Japan.

Here are five more observations related to why I believe that to be the case:

It's addictive--I guess that could be gleaned from my earlier revelation that I've spent 25 or so hours with this sucker so far, but that's not all there is to Solitiba's addictive nature. For instance, there's the fact that this is one of those titles that, even when all you plan to do is pick it up and play it for five or 10 minutes, you end up playing it for far longer than that. In my case, that usually means playing it for 30 to 40 minutes, it not longer, which is kind of crazy when you consider we're basically talking about a gussied-up game of solitaire.

It's adorable--All you need to see for proof of this bullet point are the screenshots that are scattered throughout this post. I especially love the looks of Solitiba's pudgy little horses, although I wouldn't have minded if the artists at Game Freak had conjured up at least a couple of "girly-looking" ones to balance things out a smidge. (I mean, why don't any of them sport pink or purple coats? There are a number of blue and yellow ones, after all.)

It's deep--Despite the fact that I've described Solitiba as being one part horse-racing sim and one part solitaire on at least three or four occasions now, there's far more to this digital title than that. Winning or losing has to do with more than just completing a hand of solitaire. How a player positions his or her steed throughout a race can lead to success or failure, for example, as can either picking up or passing up on the many "item" cards that are scattered about each track.

It's got a surprisingly awesome soundtrack--In fact, I've yet to hear a tune that I would describe as anything other than great. The standouts on Solitiba's soundtrack, though, go well beyond great, with two notable cases in point being the ditty that opens this video and the one that can be heard starting at the 8:04 mark of the same medley.

It's really easy to screw things up due to the slew of unintelligible menus--And by that, I mean that if you don't know some amount of Japanese, it can be far too easy to, say, delete your save file--which is a headache that's made even more painful once you realize that you're going to have to go through the game's far-too-wordy-for-its-own-good tutorial once again.

See also: Dengeki Online's Solitiba guide, Japanese3DS.com's review and Sosostris.com's write-up

Game Freak is releasing a Solitiba soundtrack on Nov. 7 and I'm going to buy the hell out of it

I know what at least a few of you are thinking right now: "How do you buy the hell out of something?"

I don't know, to tell you the truth, but I'm going to figure it out between now and Nov. 7, which is when the folks at Game Freak, makers of those Pokémon games you've probably heard about (along with a number of other gems), will release a soundtrack for Solitiba--aka Soliti Horse, aka the game that's currently eating up most of my precious free time.

Anyway, I'm guessing the two or three of you who also are feeling this Japan-only eShop game will be happy to hear copies of its soundtrack are being sold for just 2,700 Yen (about $25) via shop.2083.jp--although it seems Amazon Japan will sell them eventually as well.

Want to hear a bit of said soundtrack before committing your hard-earned dollars to it? Here you go:

By the way, if any of you are curious to learn more about this addictive digital title, which wackily combines elements of solitaire with those of an adorable horse-racing sim, keep your eyes peeled for a post I'll be publishing early next week.

See also: 'Would somebody please translate these Solitiba (3DS) screens for me?'

Would somebody please translate these Solitiba (3DS) screens for me?

While the rest of the 3DS-owning world obsesses over the latest Super Smash Bros. title (or the just-released Pokémon Alpha Sapphire/Omega Ruby demo), I am obsessing about a quirky little title that hit the Japanese eShop over a year ago: Game Freak's Solitiba (aka Soliti Horse).

In case this is the first you've heard of it, Solitiba ably--and shockingly--combines everybody's favorite single-player card game, solitaire, with a rather adorable horse-racing sim.

If that makes it sound like a snoozefest, well, I can't really blame you for feeling that way, but I can assure you the resulting effort is anything but a bore.

Anyway, I bring up all of the above because a few things are keeping me from enjoying Solitiba to the fullest: namely, the screens that can be found below. As such, if any of you kind souls could translate--or even just share the gist of--the Japanese text showcased in the following photos, I would greatly appreciate it.



The message above pops up whenever I try to play my existing save file. Clicking on the purple button returns me to Solitiba's main menu.



Speaking of the game's main menu, it can be seen in the shot above. I know the button in the upper-left corner (red jockey) takes me to Solitiba's "training" (practice) mode, while the ones in the middle (black jockey) and lower-left (orange jockey) take me to the main campaign and the options screen, but do any of you know what the one in the upper-right is supposed to represent?



Also, if I click on the "options" button shown in the last photo, I come to the screen above. Here, I know the button in front of the white horse takes me back to the previous screen, but what do the other buttons say or do?



Finally, the message above keeps popping up whenever I try to launch Solitiba. Is it telling me an update for the game's available on the eShop, or is it telling me about something else?

I ask because I pressed "Y" the first time I encountered it, but the only noteworthy thing I could make out on the resulting eShop page was that a demo (I think) of the game was available for download.

A hearty thank you in advance to anyone who is able to help me with this admittedly silly request!