Let's Play: 'Which Box Art is Best?' (Osawari Tantei 1, 2 1/2 and 3 edition)

I'm not entirely sure why I'm as interested in the Touch Detective (Osawari Tantei in Japan) series as I am. After all, my copy of the first game, released for the DS back in 2006, is still sealed, and I've yet to even buy its 2007 sequel.

I guess it's all due to the adorable protagonist, Mackensie (Ozawa Rina in Japan) and her just-as-adorable mushroom companion, Funghi.

Regardless, the series has me by the balls at the moment, at least to an extent. Which is why I'm publishing a post about the box art that's been produced for the first three Osawari Tantei titles (the last of which was unveiled late last week).

Speaking of which, here is the first Osawari Tantei's cover imagery:

And here is the second game's:

As for the cover art produced for the third game (the title of which translates to Touch Detective Rising 3: Does Funghi Dream of Bananas?), here you go:

This third entry in the Osawari Tantei series hits Japanese store shelves on May 1, by the way. Hopefully we'll hear about a Western release in the next few months.

And if we do, I promise I'll not only unwrap my woefully ignored copy of the first Touch Detective, but pick up the second one, too--and play both of them before the 3DS sequel lands on our shores.

In the meantime, I probably should state which of the three box arts seen above I like the best. My first thought is to go with the first one, due in large part to its simplicity. That said, I like the latest one, too--its soft colors, especially.

How about all of you? Do you prefer one piece of Osawari Tantei cover art over the others?

Four Japanese 3DS games I'd like to play in 2014

Let's be real here: it's likely I'm going to buy a lot of 3DS games in 2014. And when I say a lot, I mean it. A few of the North American titles that are likely to be picked up in the next 12 months, for instance: Yoshi's New Island, Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, Kirby: Triple Deluxe and Bravely Default.

And then there are Japanese 3DS games like Zoo Keeper 3D, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call and Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai 2 and the following quartet:

Fantasy Life--I truly wish I could say I'm looking forward to playing an officially localized (into English) version of this Level-5 game in 2014, but at this point that seems about as likely as Square Enix bringing Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest 3 to our shores. So, I'm thinking I'll finally cave and buy the Japanese version, even though that may not be the best idea given my current inability to understand the language. (Don't worry, I'm planning to get back to learning it after the start of the year.)

Labyrinth no Kanata--Another questionable choice considering I barely know a lick of the Japanese language at the moment, but how could I pass up a portable dungeon-crawler as nice-looking as this one? Plus, its box art (below) is the definition of gorgeous, and you know how I am when it comes to gorgeous box art. I'm not so sure the gameplay will prove to be as appealing as the graphics and cover imagery, but I'm willing to take one for the team and find out.

Taiko no Tatsujin: Chibi Dragon to Fushigi na Orb--The Taiko no Tatsujin series has intrigued me for years now, yet I still haven't played a single one. This entry seems to be fairly well received, so why not start with it? The only issue that could keep me from buying it is my fear of scratching the lower screen of my gold Pokémon Center 3DS LL.

Touch Detective Rising 3: Does Funghi Dream Of Bananas?--You'd think someone who owns but has yet to play the first Touch Detective game and hasn't even bought the second one wouldn't pine for this soon-to-be-released 3DS entry. Well, you'd be wrong in my case. It helps, of course, that this sequel has a great subtitle. Also, it's being made for the 3DS, which means it's going to be awesome.

See also: 'Four DS games I'd like to buy and play in 2014,' 'Four PSP games I'd like to buy and play in 2014' and 'Four Japanese retro games I'd like to buy (and play, of course) in 2014'

On Touch Detective 3's completely brilliant subtitle

I know I'm pretty late to this particular party, but I have an excuse: I was on a plane--a bus and then a plane and then a train and then another bus, actually--when the game was announced a few days ago.

This 3DS title's full and official name, by the way, is Touch Detective Rising 3: Does Funghi Dream of Bananas?

I'm not entirely sure why the folks at (developer) Beeworks and (publisher) Success decided to add "Rising" to the title, but I'm guessing we'll find out soon enough.

As for why I think its subtitle is brilliant: I love that it seems to be a parody of--or at least a riff on--Philip K. Dick's classic sci-fi novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Sadly, all that's currently known about the third entry in the Touch Detective series is the above-mentioned name and that it'll be released (in Japan, at least) sometime this year.

Here's hoping someone brings it--and maybe Touch Detective: Funghi's Big Breed, too--to western shores sooner rather than later.

By the way, if this post hasn't quite scratched your Funghi itch, you may want to check out Chic Pixel's post about the "Funghi x Lawson food and folder campaign."

(Illustration and photos nabbed from famitsu.com, obviously.)