Sega brings more Genesis goodness to the VC

Although I'm still holding out for the release of Climax's phenomenal quartet of Genesis RPGs (Shining in the Darkness, Shining Force, Shining Force II and the seminal Landstalker)--not to mention the rest of Treasure's 16-bit catalog--I guess I can play a few of Sega's other offerings in the meantime.

Joining Streets of Rage, Gunstar Heroes and a few others in the next few weeks and months are Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle, Wonder Boy in Monster Land and, gulp, Virtua Fighter 2. (The gulp comes from the fact that this is a horrible 2D rendition of VF2, not the arcade original or even the Saturn remake).

Alex Kidd and Wonder Boy are good options for those hankering for a bit of side-scrolling platform action a la Mario. Personally I think Alex Kidd comes out on top here, but don't take that to be gospel as I haven't spent much time with either of them.

I always knew Link was a pussy

I don't want this blog to become overrun by middle-aged spinsters, but I simply can't help but post this super cute picture recently posted to VH1's gaming site.

Clearly this cat's owner was on something (probably crank) when he or she decided to set up the shot. I think the poor kitty got a whiff of it too--how else do you explain those drug-crazed eyes?

I'd dress up our cat to look like Princess Peach if I could (it would be so fitting), but I don't know how to sew, and even if I did I don't think there's enough fabric to cover her (poor thing).

DS Crystal Chronicles: Lookin' good!

I really don't know what's gotten into the head honchos at Square-Enix in Japan. Sure, they created masterpieces on the SNES/Super Famicom as well as the PSOne, but to be honest I've been far from impressed with what they've turned out since.

If the company's recent and upcoming releases on the DS are any indication, though, the creators of Final Fantasy are back where they belong: making great, genre-busting games for hard-core players.

Lately most of my Squeenix attention has been focused on Heroes of Mana and Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings. That's slowly changing, though, as more screenshots and information are released about another highly coveted DS offering: FF Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates.

Those looking for a few tasty looking shots of the upcoming action-RPG should check out a recent post on Gamefront.de. Frankly, I amazed the DS will be pumping out such detailed 3D environments on the fly, and I can't wait to find out more about the characters, settings and how the darn thing plays (oh, and when it'll be released, too).

Wait in line for a PS3, get a free 46" telly, too!

You've got to hand it to Sony. The company's powers-that-be may not have seemed too bright before, during and even after the unsuccessful launch of the PS3 in Japan and the U.S., but they obviously got it together in time for this week's European launch.

Case in point: The first 100 people standing in line at the launch event at London's Virgin Megastore were given a free 46" high-definition Bravia TV, as well as a free cab ride home, for their troubles. Sony must be sitting on a lot of HDTVs--or they're very desperate to garner some sort of positive media attention for the PS3--considering the TVs are worth about$5,000 (U.S.).

Final Fantasy (part 1) returns to the States

Haven't had enough of the original Final Fantasy? Well, Square-Enix is going to give you another shot at their seminal RPG sooner rather than later it seems.

The ESRB (that's the Entertainment Software Rating Board) recently updated its website to mention that "Final Fantasy" for PSP has been reviewed and earned an E10+ rating for "mild fantasy violence" and "mild suggestive themes."

Final Fantasy II isn't on the list yet, but that doesn't mean it's not coming.

Personally, I'm still not sure what I think of the redone sprites in this version. If I had been the one giving the game a face lift, I either would have turned the sprites into polygonal characters like those seen in the DS remake of FFIII or I would have made them look like the CG characters that appeared on the Japanese boxes for FFIV and V in Japan.

To be be perfectly honest, rather than all of these rubbish-y remakes, I'd rather Square offer up the original, untouched NES version on the Wii Virtual Console...