Who wouldn't want to play a weird Japanese arcade game featuring a former Prime Minister, Michael Jackson and Madonna?

Shortly after I get back to Seattle (this weekend), I'm going to do something I haven't done in a very long time. No, I'm not going to pluck my eyebrows--although I will do that at some point. Rather, I'm going to download an old arcade ROM and play it via MAME.

Which game, you ask? Gonbee no I'm Sorry, which was released (in Japan) by Coreland and Sega in 1985.

I discovered the existence of this odd little Pac-Man clone while perusing the rather humorously and straightforwardly titled VGJunk blog, which I've been following for some time now, yesterday--in case you're curious as to what prompted this recent addition to my "to do as soon as I get home" list.

As for why I just described Gonbee no I'm Sorry as "odd" (and why I'm so interested in giving it a go): This should-have-become-a-classic quarter-muncher stars former Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka--who, according to VGJunk's proprietor (sorry, I don't know his name), was "so corrupt he'd make Silvio Berlusconi look above board."

That's not the only reason I want to play Gonbee no I'm Sorry, of course. Another reason I'm itching to spend some quality time with it: Two of the baddies that chase the corrupt former PM around each maze-like stage as he attempts to collect the gold bars that are scattered about are popstars Michael Jackson and Madonna, both of whom can be seen in the screenshot above.

While you wait for me to acquire and experience--and, possibly, review--this sure-to-be-weird title, all of you who are interested should head over to VGJunk and read all that blog has to say about it.

I don't know about you, but I think the animated, polygonal enemies in Etrian Odyssey IV look pretty darn awesome

I have to admit, I was more than a bit skeptical when I read that Etrian Odyssey IV would include animated, polygonal enemies rather than the static, hand-drawn ones that have appeared in every other Etrian Odyssey release.

After watching the following trailer for this soon-to-be-released--on July 5, in Japan--3DS title, though, I'm feeling much less apprehensive. Actually, I'm feeling pretty darn excited about the game at the moment--in large part because the aforementioned animated and polygonal enemies look pretty awesome to these eyes.



What do all of you think? Did the trailer above serve to pique your interest in Etrian Odyssey IV?

Regardless, here's hoping this Atlus-made RPG makes its way to Australia, Europe and North America sooner rather than later--so all of us Etrian Odyssey fans can once again scratch our dungeon-crawling itches.

(Via andriasang.com)

You've just got to love Mighta's beady little eyes (and hands and feet and everything else)

Mighta isn't the only Bubble Bobble character with beady eyes and other features in the photo below, of course. Bobblun (Bob), Bubblun (Bub), Monsta, PulPul and Zen-Chan are all a bit beady, too--thanks to the Perler Beads that make up their bodies.



The creations above were made by artist and blogger Kasey Tararuj, by the way. Check out her wonderful blog here, and check out a post about one of her previous creations--a three-dimensional Bubble Bobble-themed painting--in "For once, Bobblun gets the spotlight."

The best piece of 3DS box art yet? I think so.

Quite a few pieces of 3DS box art have impressed me since the system was launched early last year. Among them: The box art created for Beyond the Labyrinth and Extreme Escape Adventure: Good People Die (aka Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward).

I think the piece of cover art below may have them both beat, to tell you the truth. What game was it created for, you ask? Fire Emblem: Kakusei (aka Fire Emblem: Awakening).

I'm not entirely in love with the game's logo, although I do appreciate its rather understated elegance. The illustration that resides behind said logo, though, is where it's at. I especially love its diagonal focus and movement.

This fabulous piece of cover art will appear on Japanese store shelves on April 19. Here's hoping both the game and the above-mentioned box art (and maybe this bundle, too) make it out of Japan and into other territories sooner than later.

(Via tinycartridge.com)

More bullets, more buff dudes, more ... butts?

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