Special delivery: Kaneko's Peetan for GameBoy

I don't think I've ever mentioned this here or anywhere else, but for some time now I've dutifully--some would say obsessively--maintained a list of "Holy Grail" GameBoy titles.

Basically, the games named on it are ones I desperately want to own before I kick the bucket.

The list used to be pretty long. I've been able to lop a number of games off of it in recent years, months and weeks, though, thanks to some timely perusals of eBay, Yahoo Japan Auctions and the like.



A few of the titles that have made the transition from my handy text file to my grubby little hands: Tumblepop, Totsugeki! Ponkotsu Tank, Taiyou no Tenshi Marlowe, Snow Bros. Jr., Painter Momopie, Noobow, Bubble Bobble Junior and Astro Rabby.

Oh, and Kaneko's Peetan.

Tracking down and acquiring a complete-in-box copy of that 1991, Japan-only release has been more difficult than you might think. After all, the game rarely pops up on any of the auction sites or online shops I eluded to earlier, and when it does, it usually goes for an obscene amount of money. (Here's a good example.)

So, when I came across the far-cheaper-than-four-hundred-dollars copy of Peetan showcased in the photos found throughout this post, you can bet I jumped on it.

It's not perfect. The colorful outer box is ever-so-slightly torn on its rear side, and the instruction manual is a bit crumpled. Still, it's complete and the game cartridge works like a charm, so I'm more than satisfied.

If you've never played, or even heard of, Peetan, the gist is that it's a lot like one of those old Game & Watch titles Nintendo produced during the 1980s. How so? Well, the whole she-bang is depicted in black and white (or black and green, if you're using an original GameBoy model), for starters. Also, each and every stage sticks to the confines of the brick-like handheld system's screen.

Beyond that, Peetan's gameplay is refreshingly simple. You control a mama chicken who patrols the top fifth of the play area. Below her are a trio of helpless chicks as well as a bunch of seesaws. Throwing a wrench into the works: a hungry mutt (or wolf) who has his eyes--and terrifying chops--set on the above-mentioned hatchlings.

As he stalks your offspring, you press the GameBoy's directional pad to move left or right and jab its A or B buttons to drop eggs that either knock the canid on the head or catapult your chicks toward safety (aka the top of the screen).

It's all rather stressful--something that probably isn't obvious in this Peetan gameplay footage--although the boppy tunes that percolate in the background help cut the tension a bit. (But only a bit.)

Would Peetan have earned a place on the "must buy" list mentioned early on in this post if its gameplay weren't so compelling and exciting? Honestly, I think it would have. Look at that cover art and tell me you wouldn't say the same--if you had any interest in collecting GameBoy titles, I mean.

This Inter State-made game's instruction manual's quite a looker, too, although I hesitate to compare it to its cartridge label. (Don't take my word for it; flip through the Peetan manual yourself.) Still, I'm sure you get the point: that Peetan's packaging is top notch all the way around.

What do you think? Also, have any of you played this old game? If so, what did you think of it?

See also: 'Nu-Bo, Nuubou, Noobow, New--oh, whatever...'

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's first real trailer is pretty magical, don't you think?

I haven't paid much attention to this year's E3, I have to admit. That's not because I don't care about the current-gen consoles, mind you; it's because I'm busy as all get-out (at work) right now.

Still, I couldn't help but step away from it all yesterday and spend a few minutes watching the following trailer, which is for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Which is kind of funny, when I think about it, as I haven't been too keen on the Zelda series since, oh, The Wind Waker was first released back in 2002 and 2003.



That's pretty appropriate, actually. After all, Breath of the Wild's art style brings to mind the one showcased in The Wind Waker.

All that said, there's almost no chance I'll pick up a Wii U so I can play through this beautiful, open-world adventure. I've very likely I'll buy an NX--or whatever Nintendo's next system is called--down the road, though, so assuming that happens, maybe I'll get to experience that iteration of Breath of the Wild.

How about all of you? For starters, what do you think of the footage seen above (or here)? Also, are any of you chomping at the bit to purchase either the Wii U or the NX version of this latest entry in the Legend of Zelda series?

CIB Sunday: Pizza Pop! (Famicom)

It's Sunday once again, and you know what that means: it's time to share a photo of a complete-in-box copy of some video game or other.

This week, I’m going with Jaleco’s Pizza Pop! By most accounts, this Famicom title, released all the way back in 1992, is not a great game. Still, I've long been a fan of it due to its colorful graphics and old-school platforming gameplay.



OK, so it's also due to this import's vivacious packaging, which is on full display in the snapshot above.

Want to learn more about Pizza Pop! or see more photos of its box, cartridge or instruction manual? Check out this old post of mine.

See also: 'CIB Sunday: Hyakumanton no Bara Bara (PSP)'

Introducing: the Famicart Art! tumblr

As most (all?) of you know, I'm a real sucker for anything related to the Nintendo Famicom.

Which means, of course, I've become a tiny bit obsessed with Walter Parenton's latest tumblr--he also maintains one called boygraphics--since I first became aware of it a couple of days ago.

The name of Parenton's new tumblog says it all, really: Famicart Art!

Here are a few examples of what you'll be able to ogle if you decide to follow the Famicart Art! tumblr:



The colorful cartridge above contains a Jaleco-made game called Ochin no Toshi Puzzle Tonjan!?



This spooky-looking piece of plastic, on the other hand, houses Yamamura Misa Suspense: Kyoto Hana no Misshitsu Satsujin Jiken, a Japan-only (duh) adventure game from 1989.



Finally, we have Pony Canyon's adorable Onyanko Town. This 1985 release has been on my "to buy" list for ages now. Maybe this write-up will push me to get off my butt and buy a copy of it.

While you wait for my inevitable slew of blog posts about Onyanko Town, you should head over to my Flickr photostream and check out all of the photos I've taken of Famicom game boxes, cartridges and instruction manuals.

See also: previous Famicom-focused posts

It's easier than ever to take a Magical Vacation--even if you don't know Japanese

Like a lot of people, I've wanted to play the Brownie Brown-made (and Nintendo-published) Magical Vacation since I first became aware of it in the lead up to the GameBoy Advance's early-2001 release.

What's stopped me from doing so? The language barrier is the biggest reason, no question. Although I'm (slowly) learning Japanese, I still haven't learned enough to understand the story in games like this one.

Thankfully, that's no longer an issue--or at least it no longer has to be an issue. That's because an English fan translation patch hit the Internet the other day that makes Magical Vacation accessible to schmucks like me who aren't quite ready to stumble their way through an RPG that otherwise displays text they don't understand.

To learn more about this patch--or, you know, download it--go to romhacking.net.

Before you grab it, though, you might like to know the Magical Vacation patch contains a few glitches, typos and chunks of untranslated text. It's still quite playable, and even enjoyable, based on what I've been told, but I thought some of you would appreciate hearing about the above-mentioned issues before diving into this candy-coated (yet also surprisingly dark--again, based on what I've been told) adventure.

Are any of you planning to give this a try? Or maybe you're already making your way through it? If your answer to either of those questions is yes, please let me--and others--know in the comments section below.