The decision has been made: I'm getting a New 3DS (instead of a pink OG 3DS)

Actually, I already bought it. On Saturday. It won't be in my hands until late this week or early next, though, so I've got plenty of time to decide which of my six (yes, you read that correctly) cover plates I'll attach to this shiny new handheld first.

Don't take this to mean I'll never acquire the "pearl pink" OG 3DS I've pined for since that color was first announced, by the way. A part of me thinks I'll still buy one at some point--and possibly sooner rather than later.

Who knows, though? Maybe I'll fall head over heels in love with my New 3DS once it's in my hands and that will kill my interest in the OG variety once and for all.

Some of you may be wondering why I'm unsure if I'll love the New 3DS that's on its way to me.



After all, I bought a Japanese version of the system late last year. (Read about it in my post, "As I've always said, you can't have too many Animal Crossing-themed things or 3DS systems.")

The thing is, I've yet to actually use that system. Which, I realize, is completely ridiculous. Perhaps even insane. Rest assured I didn't purchase it to let it sit in a box. Truth be told, I'm terrified I'll screw up the process of transferring all of the games and saves from my gold Pokémon Center 3DS LL to my Japanese New 3DS, and that is what has kept me from playing the latter.

Thankfully, moving everything from my "flame red" OG 3DS to my North American New 3DS should go a long way toward helping me put those fears to rest. Assuming it does, I'll finally be able to put some of the Japanese 3DS games I've picked up over the last few months through their paces, as the saying goes.

In the meantime, do any of you own a New 3DS system? What do you think of it, if so?

All I want for Christmas is ...

Well, it's that time of year again--if you celebrate Christmas or any of the other "winter holidays" in some form or fashion, of course.

I do, although not in a religious sense, which means I've been forced--yes, forced, I tell you!--to come up with a list of potential presents for a select few people in my life.

Here are the gaming-related gifts that made it onto my list this year, in case any of you are curious:

16GB memory card for Vita--When I bought my pink-and-white Vita early this year, I was so excited about it that I completely ignored the fact that the system comes with just one GB of internal storage memory. In other words, I've barely bought any digital titles since March. Or, rather, I've bought some, but I can't play them because I don't have enough room on my Vita to download them. So, this may be the present--game-related or not--that I want the most this holiday season.

Kiki Kaikai (PC Engine)--I have kind of a weird history with this Taito-made, Japanese-folklore-themed run-and-gun game. When I first played it a few years back, it made me turn up my nose in disgust. To say the game looks a bit bland is an understatement of nearly criminal proportions. Plus, it's tough as nails--and in this case, I don't mean that in a good way. Over time, though, Kiki Kaikai's grown on me--to the point that I'm now chomping at the bit to own a complete-in-box copy of it.

One of these Japanese 3DS cover plates--Full disclosure: I already own three cover plates for the New 3DS I imported a couple of months ago. I tend to think of these cover plates like I think of my precious baseball caps, though--in other words, I want one for every outfit and every occasion. Which should go a long way toward explaining why I long to own both this pink-and-white striped one and this watermelon-inspired one.

Pink Yarn Yoshi amiibo--Would you believe I don't own a single amiibo figure? Hell, I wouldn't believe it if I weren't me. (Does that even make sense?) After all, I just admitted that I'm gaga over Nintendo's New 3DS cover plates, and I admitted last week that I can't be trusted when it comes to that same company's Nintendo Badge Arcade app. For whatever reason, though, I've yet to be bitten by the amiibo bug. That said, I find the pink Yarn Yoshi ones to be the definition of adorable.

Steins;Gate (Vita)--It is with great shame that I reveal I never pre-ordered this game as I promised in the lead up to its release. Actually, that's not true. I did order it, but I later canceled it when I discovered I'd overextended my gaming budget a bit and had to scale things back a bit. I still very much want to experience this highly acclaimed visual novel, though, so even if my parents or husband fail to put a copy under the tree for me, I'll buy one for myself in the days or weeks that follow.

So, those are the gaming-related items I've included in my holiday wish list. What are all of you asking your loved ones for this season?

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.

Oskunk x Torchic x 3DS Cover Plate

Although I've never been the biggest Pokémon fan--yes, despite the rather ridiculous purchase I made a couple of years ago--I've always had a soft spot for the little buggers.

I especially like the "Pocket Monsters" that are especially, almost sickeningly, cute--which should help explain why I find the Oskunk creation below so darn appealing.



I don't know about you, but until I saw this faux 3DS cover plate, I had no idea Torchic's Japanese name was Achamo. (That's what the text found in the upper-left corner says, by the way.)

Should you want to see a few more photos of this beauty, head on over to Oskunk's blog.

See also: previous Oskunk-centric posts

A few thoughts on this morning's Japanese and North American Nintendo Direct broadcasts

Let's get this out of the way right at the beginning: Nintendo revealed during this morning's Nintendo Direct broadcast (watch it here) that it's finally bringing the New 3DS to North America on Feb. 13.

Unfortunately, it appears the company's only giving us the XL version of this stopgap system, as the smaller New 3DS--the one that can be personalized with all sorts of fun and colorful "cover plates"--was completely ignored.

I'm hopeful we'll get the non-XL New 3DS eventually, but I'm not sure I care one way or the other at the moment. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to own one of the smaller New 3DSes some day, but I'm plenty happy with my pink-and-white XL and I'm not in any particular hurry to replace it (or my red OG 3DS)--especially since I have yet to buy a Vita.



Anyway, four New 3DS XLs will hit North American store shelves on Feb. 13: a black one, a red one and two special editions (one of which is gold and features a Majora's Mask design and the other of which is silver and features a Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate design).

Oh, and speaking of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, both of those 3DS games will launch alongside the New 3DS XL in North America. Sounds good to me.

A few other 3DS games were revealed during this morning's North American Nintendo Direct, namely the New 3DS port of Xenoblade Chronicles (due out in this region in April), Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition (coming in May) and a new entry in the Fire Emblem series (see screenshot below) that's being called Fire Emblem If in Japan and supposedly will see the light of day sometime between now and the end of 2015.



I'll be picking up the latter two titles, no question, although I'll very likely pass on Xenoblade Chronicles 3D even if I change my mind and pick up a New 3DS XL at some point down the road. (I liked what I played of the Wii version of Xenoblade Chronicles a year or two ago, but I don't have much interest in revisiting the experience.)

The Japanese Nintendo Direct (watch it here) was far more thrilling for me thanks to a single announcement--that being that a new Rhythm Tengoku game will be released for the 3DS this year.

As far as I can tell, it doesn't yet have an official name or a solid release date. What is known is that it will feature more than 100 mini-games, with around 70 of them being taken from earlier Rhythm Tengoku titles and 30 of them being new (including the one seen below).



I'll be pre-ordering this sucker as soon as amiami.com allows me to do so, of course.

Another interesting 3DS-related announcement made during the Japanese Nintendo Direct revolved around the Girls Mode series, known as Style Savvy in North America. Specifically, the 3DS' home region will be getting Girls Mode 3 on April 16.

It's been a while since I played my copy of Style Savvy: Trendsetters (the North American version of the second Girls Mode), so I can't really say what's new about this entry, but it looks interesting all the same, so fingers crossed that it somehow makes its way to our shores in the coming months.

Other than the above, I continue to be impressed by a trio of upcoming Wii U games--Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Splatoon and Xenoblade Chronicles X--that were shown as part of the North American Nintendo Direct.

All three look absolutely marvelous, although I have no idea when I'll actually get to experience any of them myself, as my home remains a Wii U-free environment. Who knows, maybe that finally will change later this year.

Now that I've had my say, what did all of you think about this morning's broadcasts? Did they satisfy you? Anger you? Or maybe they made you feel some other emotion entirely?

Six reasons I'm excited about the 'new' 3DS

I know I'm a few days late when it comes to commenting on the "new" 3DS and 3DS LL systems Nintendo will release in Japan next month (check out tinycartridge.com's write-up for the particulars), but I just haven't had much to say on the subject until now.

Other than "I think some of the new features and components sound kind of cool, even if I don't fully understand them," I mean.

As cool as some of the "new" 3DS' features and components sound, the only one that currently has me contemplating picking up one of these systems is the one that allows owners to customize the look of their "new" 3DSes with interchangeable "cover plates."

Speaking of which, here are six of my favorite cover-plate designs:













If I had to point to just one of the above as being my absolute favorite, I'd go with the Monster Hunter 4G "Poogie" one, no question.

What do all of you think about the announcements related to this recent Nintendo Direct? Are you now chomping at the bit to buy one of the "new" 3DS systems, for instance? Or maybe you're desperate to get your hands on a copy of the just-unveiled Xenoblade port that will only be playable on these upgraded portables? Regardless, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.