This one's for you, Sean

I couldn't help but think of Famicomblog proprietor Sean upon seeing this morning's addition to the Retro Treasures blog, which turned followers on to an eBay auction for a complete-in-box Donkey Kong Pocketsize Game & Watch system.

That said, I can't see Sean handing over the kind of cash that's surely going to be needed to win this particular auction. After all, the bidding's already up to £720 (approximately $1,120) and the auction doesn't end until around this time on Thursday.

All of this could be yours for $1,000 (or more)!

Although I'm sure that's way more than anyone reading this post is willing to spend on such an item, the eBay listing (here) is still worth a look if you're at all interested in Nintendo's Game & Watch products--especially since it includes a number of additional photos of the system taken from different angles.

(Via retro-treasures.blogspot.com)

The perfect gift for the Mother fan in your life

I've barely played the fan translation of Mother 3 thus far, but I've played enough of it to know that I want to play more of it--and that I want a copy of the awesome "Mother 3 Handbook" created by the folks at Fangamer.

Actually, the first edition of said handbook--all 240, full-color pages of it--was sold via Fangamer back in early 2009. As far as I'm aware, though, it quickly sold out and, as a result, many Mother 3 fans have been clamoring for a reprint ever since.



Well, it appears their wishes have been granted--and then some. Not only is it up for sale once again, but this version is some 30 pages longer than the original printing and is available in both hardcover and softcover formats. (The former will run you $29 plus shipping while the latter will run you $20.)

For more information on what's included in this 270-page guide, or to order one for the EarthBound/Mother fan in your life, go to handbook.fangamer.com.

The Great Gaymathon Review #46: Ice Climber (Famicom)

Game: Ice Climber

Genre: Platformer

Developer: Nintendo

Publisher: Nintendo

System: Famicom

Release date: 1985

It could and should go without saying that Ice Climber is unlikely to be everyone's cup of tea. Hell, it wasn't even my cup of tea until a month or so ago. Why? For me, it began and ended with the game's frustratingly stiff, Mario Bros.-esque jumping mechanism.

If you've never played this early Nintendo-published title, that's a problem because the point of Ice Climber is to help its parka-wearing, mallet-wielding protagonists--Popo is the guy, Nana is the gal--make their way from the base of some 20-odd mountains to their peaks. You do this by forcing them, via your controller's A and B buttons, to bound from platform to platform while bashing, or even avoiding, pesky enemies like tottering seals ("Topi"), swooping birds ("Nitpickers") and sunglasses-sporting polar bears. (For some weird reason, a blood-red condor stole Popo and Nana's cross-eyed vegetables and stashed them atop said snow-covered bluffs.)

Is the game's stilted jumping mechanism a deal-breaker? It will be for some, and it was for me originally, but it doesn't have to be. The key is to embrace and accept it. After that, things become much more manageable. You'll still struggle, of course, but it won't be a pull-out-your-hair kind of struggle--or at least it isn't for me.

That's because there's a lot to like about this game once you get over Popo's and Nana's leaping abilities (or lack thereof). For instance, there's the game's rather jazzy soundtrack. Its graphics are pretty nice, too, although a bit repetitive. My favorite part of this classic platformer, though? Those aforementioned veggies. What can I say? I like games with produce.

See also: Previous 'Great Gaymathon' posts

L is for Link, Z is for Zelda ...

Upon seeing the print below, it should be pretty clear to just about everybody that Houston-based artist (and blogger) Lizzy House is a big Nintendo fan.

After all, out of the 26 images that appear in the following alphabet print, three of them (L, N and Z) are related to the company that's best known for introducing Link, Mario and Pokemon to the world.

House is selling a limited number (125) of these prints via her etsy shop for $50 apiece (plus shipping). Each one is 18 inches by 24 inches and is printed on archival paper.

To see more examples of House's abilities, check out her blog, her etsy shop or her Flickr photostream.

Happy birthday to me!

I originally felt kind of weird mentioning this here, but then I thought, 'If I can't mention my birthday on my own blog, where can I mention it?'

So, there you go. It's my birthday! Yay me :)

What am I doing on this most glorious of days? Well, aside from sitting at my computer ... not much. I've been sick since Wednesday, though, so "not much" is actually preferable to most activities at the moment.

I am doing one fun, game-related thing (besides blogging) while I sit at my computer, by the way: I'm finding all sorts of ways to spend the chunk of change my parents sent me as a birthday gift.

Specifically, I'm buying some of the games (mostly Japanese ones, but not all) that I've been dreaming about for the last few months while I've been broke.

(Note: The cake in the photograph above is a recreation of the birthday cake that appears in the Animal Crossing games. To make one for yourself or someone you love, check out the Gourmet Gaming blog.)