10 reasons to love (or at least look forward to) Nintendo's next Kirby title

Thanks to the headline above, you probably expected to see a post full of bullet points, didn't you? Sorry to disappoint.

So, where are the 10 reasons to love (or at least look forward to) Nintendo's next Kirby title that are promised in said header? Why, they're on the just-revealed cover art that will appear on each copy of Atsumete! Kirby, a DS game that will be released in Japan this August.

"Atsumete" apparently is Japanese for "gather," by the way. That certainly makes sense when you consider that the game "has players guide up to 10 Kirbys through a stage using the stylus," according to andriasang.com.

Every Kirby game except one (Kirby's Twinkling Kids, aka Kirby's Super Star Stacker) has made its way from Japan to the US thus far, so I have to imagine Atsumete! Kirby will follow in its predecessors' footsteps.

Here's to hoping the art that graces the cover of the North American version of the game is as cute as its Japanese counterpart.

Super Studly Mario Bros.

I can't say I've ever found myself drooling over an image of Mario or of his "main bro," Luigi, but I'm certainly open to doing just that should the right illustration or even photo present itself.

At least, that's what I would have told you before I came across what I believe is the cover of a soon-to-be-released issue of MUTO Manifesto magazine.

As far as I can tell, the issue above has not yet hit (virtual) newsstands--which means I'll be visiting MUTO Manifesto's website at least once a day until it does.

(Via Gayme Bar's Facebook page)

The Great Gaymathon Review #26: Pro Tennis World Court (PC Engine)

Game: Pro Tennis World Court

Genre: Sports

Developer: Namcot

Publisher: Namcot

System: PC Engine (HuCard)

Release date: 1988

Pro Tennis World Court is widely known--to 16-bit afficionados, at least--as "the tennis RPG." There's a good reason for that: Along with the expected singles and doubles modes, this Namcot-published game features a "quest" mode that tasks players with wandering the Final Fantasy-esque lands of the creatively named (or not) "Tennis Kingdom" in search of the "Evil Tennis King." (I'm not making this up--check out this blog post for more on this title's sad excuse for a backstory.) Before you can challenge this lizard-like baddie (he's green) to a Nadal-Federer-ish face-off, you'll have to vanquish a number of his minions in tennis matches of varying lengths. You'll also have to upgrade your equipment (rackets, shoes and shirts--which boost your character's power, foot speed and ability to refuse challenges, respectively) using the winnings you receive after beating the aforementioned, randomly-encountered foes. All in all, it's an enjoyably unique, if slightly unpolished (you'll know what I'm talking about when you approach your first NPC), experience. You'll have to be patient if you want to eke every last ounce of fun out of the game, though, as it starts rather slowly. Thankfully, things speed up appreciably once you update your gear a bit. Even then, Pro Tennis World Court (World Court Tennis in the States) never feels quite as slick or arcade-y as another well-known PC Engine title featuring fuzzy, yellow balls--Final Match Tennis--but its quirkiness at least partially makes up for it.

See also: Previous 'Great Gaymathon' posts

Order Up!! (yes, now with two exclamation points) coming soon to 3DS, PS3 and 'TBA'

The folks at Supervillain Studios have been teasing an Order Up! sequel for some time.

It all started in late 2009, when one of the developer's staffers revealed that "a good amount of work" had been competed on the title. The teasing continued last June when a comic was published on the company's website that suggested the follow-up would be released for the PS3.

Strangely, that's the last time anyone at the Irvine, Calif.-based company talked publicly about the game--until a few days ago. That's when four screenshots--which seemingly showcased a new Order Up! restaurant (below) and waiter--were added to the developer's website. Shortly afterwards, a Supervillain Studios staffer revealed that the screenshots in question were from Order Up!!, an updated--with new content and features--version of the Wii release that will appear on the 3DS, the PS3 and "a third (TBA) platform as well."



Will the "TBA platform" wind up being Nintendo's soon-to-be-unveiled successor to the Wii (i.e., Project Café)? We'll find out shortly, I guess.

In the meantime, add one of the above-mentioned iterations of Order Up!! to your "to buy" list. If it's anything like its Wii-based predecessor, it'll be well worth whatever you have to spend to acquire it.

(Via gonintendo.com)

The Gay Gamer x Tiny Cartridge, take four

Well, the last of the four posts I composed for tinycartridge.com has been published. The subject of this one: GameBoy graffiti!

My favorite of the three pieces of street art mentioned in said post is the one below, which was recently photographed in Austria by Flickr user Philipp Hamedl.

Check out this Tiny Cartridge post for two more examples of completely fabulous (if I do say so myself) GameBoy graffiti.

See also: Previous 'The Gay Gamer x Tiny Cartridge' posts