In more serious Bubble Bobble news ...

In a (fairly) recent blog post, the always awesome auntie pixelante waxed poetic about how Bubble Bobble designer Fukio Mitsuji used "visual information to help the player understand the rules of a game."

Specifically, she focused on how Mitsuji explained, visually, using the giant frying pan seen in the screenshot below, the behavior of the game's fire/flame bubbles.

"Players pop the bubbles and the flames fall down to the wide, flat surface of the pan, which then catches fire--like cracking an egg and dripping it into a frying pan to sizzle," she writes. "The enemies that inhabit this stage bounce diagonally through the air; when they come down they touch the fire, pop into the air and come down as food that the players can gather. The word “POPCORN” written on the screen makes the metaphor complete."

If you're interested in game design in general and Bubble Bobble in particular--and who isn't interested in the latter?--I'd highly recommend reading the rest of pixelante's post (here).

Sometimes I wonder if Bub and Bob were gay

Not with each other, mind you. They were brothers, after all. (At least I think they were brothers. I mean, they're called "twins" on the Bubble Bobble Wikipedia page--and Wikipedia's never wrong, right?)

Anyway, why do I think they may have been gay? For starters, they were awfully clean-cut and doe-eyed while in human form (see Rainbow Islands and Parasol Stars)--and, as everyone knows, being both of those things means you're gay with a capital "G." (Don't even get me started on the fact that they traipsed over rainbows in the first Bubble Bobble sequel and pranced around with parasols in the second.) And then there's the preciousness of their dragon form (depicted below by deviantartist beyx):



I know what a number of you are thinking: "But weren't Bub and Bob trying to save their girlfriends in Bubble Bobble?" What, you've never heard of beards? Don't forget that this supposed "let's save our girlfriends from some evil monsters" crusade took place during the early 1980s, when people weren't as cool as they are now (for the most part) with the whole gay thing.

Who knows, maybe the folks at Taito are working feverishly and secretively to finish up Bubble Bobble 4: Fabulous 4ever, in which Bub and Bob, fully "out" and once again in human form, will sport Caesar cuts (or maybe faux hawks), tight t-shirts and similarly snug jeans.

Gekisha Boy + Rainbow Islands

Remember how I mentioned "two other recent acquisitions" at the end of my last post? Those of you who checked out my Flickr photostream know those pick-ups weren't Famicom games; rather, they were PC Engine games. (Yeah, I know, what a shocker!)

Specifically, they were Irem's Gekisha Boy (aka Photograph Boy) and NEC Avenue's Rainbow Islands.

Here's a photo of the latter game's cover art:

And here's a photo of the former's cover art:

Two more photos of Gekisha Boy--one of which features the super-cool PC Engine CoreGrafx II system--can be found on my Flickr phtostream (if you're interested in such things).

Dig Dug + Warpman

Seven down, two (or maybe three) to go.

Those numbers refer to the number of Namco--or Namcot, if you want to be completely accurate--Famicom games I currently own and hope to own in the future, respectively.

A month or so ago, you may recall, I picked up five such games: BurgerTime, Mappy, Pac-Man, Sky Kid and The Tower of Druaga. Which games have I added since? Why, Dig Dug and Warpman.

I'm guessing all of you have at least heard of, if not played, Dig Dug, but what about Warpman? Yeah, I didn't think so.

Warpman is a sequel to an obscure arcade game from 1981 called Warp & Warp (Warp Warp in the States). Both games are divided into two parts: Maze World and Space World. The former plays a bit like Bomberman, while the latter plays a bit like a less frantic version of another arcade game from the early 1980s--Robotron.

Sadly, that probably makes Warpman sound more appealing than it really is. That's not to say it's a bad game--it's just not as compelling or enjoyable as either of the above-mentioned classics.

With all of that out of the way, what are the two (or maybe three) Namco/Namcot Famicom games that I'm hoping to add to my collection at some future point in time? Galaga, Galaxian and Dig Dug II (with the middle title being the "maybe").

For more photos of Dig Dug and Warpman--as well as two other recent acquisitions--check out my Flickr photostream.

Four reasons you should check out Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light

You know how I gushed and gushed about the greatness that is Dragon Quest IX? Well, I'm feeling similarly gushy after spending about 25 hours with Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light.

I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm enjoying the latter title as much as the former, but I would say I'm enjoying it to a similar extent--despite Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light's distinct lack of Metal King Slimes (my favorite enemy in Dragon Quest IX).

In case my word alone isn't enough to push you to pick up a copy of this lovely little game, here are four additional reasons I think it's worth your time and money (assuming you enjoy RPGs, of course):

1. It features some of the best 3D graphics to grace the DS--Honestly, it may be the prettiest polygon-based DS game I've played. It looks like an abstract watercolor (this is especially evident in the towns of Arbor, Guera and Spelvia, above), which in my mind is a very good thing.

2. Despite its artsy-fartsy appearance, it will kick your ass--Repeatedly. I'm pretty sure I've yet to defeat a boss on my first attempt. Also, I've been slaughtered while running around the overworld--something that rarely if ever happens to me in other RPGs. (Both of those things are positives in my opinion, as too many modern-day RPGs are pushovers.)

3. Its crown system's actually pretty cool--It reminds me a lot of the job system in Final Fantasy V, to tell you the truth, although the one in this game has less depth and is more streamlined. One thing the crown system has over Final Fantasy V's job system, though, is that players aren't required to grind in order to max out each class. Also, some of the crowns are unbelievably cute. My favorites: The bandit, black mage (top hat for the win!), hero and merchant crowns.

4. It will keep you busy for a good while--I've already put about 25 hours into it, and I have a feeling I'm only about halfway to the finale. Also, it should be noted that the game really opens up, in a manner reminiscent of Final Fantasy VI's second act, around the 15- to 20-hour mark. (Don't worry, that's not a spoiler.)

See also: 'I really like Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, but ...'