Cory Schmitz x Journey

And of course I'm talking about Journey the highly-acclaimed PSN game, not Journey the award-winning band.

Sadly, I can't play thatgamecompany's Journey--as I'm sure many of you are aware, I don't yet own a PS3--so I have to scratch my itch for the game by reading articles about it and staring at art inspired by it.

Case in point: The wonderfully minimalist illustration below (and here) that was created by Cory Schmitz.



This illustration was made for a well-worth-reading article, written by Kevin Nguyen, for The Bygone Bureau, by the way. Check it out in all of its originally-intended glory here (and check out Nguyen's article, too, while you're at it).

To see more of Schmitz' work, pay a visit to his Flickr photostream or his online portfolio.

Before you click on the links above, though, please tell me this: Have any of you played Journey? If so, what do you think of it?

From the back of my boyhood closet, part six

Have any of you played--or even heard of--the PC game called Planet's Edge? (It was made by New World Computing, perhaps best known for producing the Might and Magic series.) No worries if you haven't, as the game came out all the way back in 1992 and I've yet to run into anyone who claims to remember it.

Regardless, I have fond memories of playing the hell out of this outer-space-based RPG as a teen. In particular, I have fond memories of exploring--on foot, with my four-member party--the many, many planets (Wikipedia says there are hundreds, which means I barely scratched the surface of the game when I played it) of Planet's Edge.

I also remember enjoying the title's mining aspect. (You're often able to transfer some of a planet's raw materials to your ship, which can then be taken back to your home base and used to make bigger and better ships and, if my memory's not failing me, weapons.)

All that said, I'm not entirely sure why I brought the game's box and disks from my boyhood closet to my current home in Seattle, as our PC doesn't have a disk drive. For nostalgia's sake? It wouldn't be the first time.

Thankfully, it seems I should be able to download a copy of Planet's Edge fairly easily (such as here and here, I think). Should I be able to get it up and running, I'll give it a go for old times' sake and then (attempt to) write up a "somewhat gay" review of it.

See also: Previous 'from the back of my boyhood closet' posts

You've never looked more beautiful, Binary Land

If you ask me, it's a crying shame that one of Hudson Soft's earliest Famicom games, the rather romantic Binary Land, was never released outside of Japan.

That's because Binary Land is one of the cutest, not to mention one of the most unique, titles to hit the console that was called the Nintendo Entertainment System everywhere else in the world.

Sure, it's more than a bit archaic in terms of graphics--although the main characters, Gurin (the blue penguin in this video of Binary Land's first level) and Malon (the pink penguin), were crafted with a good bit of care and skill--but the boring-ish visuals never detract from the gameplay, which calls on players to lead Gurin and Malon through each maze-like stage until they meet at the caged heart in the middle. (This is more challenging than it sounds, as players control both players at the same time.)



Anyway, I'm guessing that even if Binary Land had been released in Australia, Europe or North (or South) America, its cartridge label likely wouldn't have been half as cute as the one seen in the photo above.

Said label was made by the proprietor (or proprietress) of "the laboratory" tumblog, by the way. If you like his/her style (and you should), you'll probably like these Famicom label mockups and these mockups of a make-believe series of games called Wander World, too.

(Via the comments section of this famicomblog post)

Reason #404 I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

I recently bought a Game Gear game--the Japanese version of Tengen's Magical Puzzle Popils, to be exact--despite the fact that I don't yet own a Game Gear system.

There's a method (well, kind of) to my madness, though; you see, in part I bought a copy of this Fukio Mitsuji-designed game because I hoped it would push me to (finally) pick up Sega's first handheld. (Its second being the Nomad, of course.)

Another reason I bought the copy of Magical Puzzle Popils you see in the photo to the right: Its cover art. Duh! (For a bit more information on this precious puzzler, read these previously-published blog posts.)

Don't worry, I won't hold off on reviewing this titillating title until I actually acquire a Game Gear system. I've played it enough via emulation to know it inside and out, so there's no real reason for me to wait. Anyway, keep an eye out for it if you're so inclined.

In the meantime, have any of you ever bought a game or two for a system (console or handheld) that you don't yet own?

See also: Other reasons I could be considered an 'eccentric' (aka bat-sh*t crazy) gamer

Another update about my dad

So, it's been a few weeks since I last wrote about my dad. I thought some of you may be curious as to how he's doing, so here's a bit of an update on his recovery (from the trio of strokes he had in mid-February).

The short and sweet of it is that he's doing really, really well. He's still in a nursing home and he still can't use his left arm or leg well enough to walk or otherwise fully take care of himself, but he's able to use both limbs a little bit more each and every day.

My mom and dad during our most
recent family vacation.

In fact, earlier this week my mom surprised me by telling me that he stood up, on his own, for the first time since he had his strokes. Previously, the most he had been able to do with his left leg was kick his foot back and forth while sitting in a wheelchair and raise his knee while lying in bed.

Anyway, how big of a deal is it that he was able to stand up on his own, you ask? Big enough that my dad's physical therapists did a little "dance of joy," according to my mom.

Sadly, I wasn't able to see any of the above in person. I'm hoping I'll be able to witness, from afar, at least some of his future "momentous occasions," though, since my mom recently picked up an iPad and has been using it--and Apple's completely fabulous FaceTime app--to make video calls to me (and to David, too, when he's not working) pretty much every other day.

Thanks again for all of your support, by the way. It's been extremely helpful and my dad, mom and I have greatly appreciated it.

UPDATE: I hate to update this post already, especially with not-so-great news, but I wrote this on Friday night and didn't expect anything negative to happen between then and now. Unfortunately, something did. Basically, my dad had to have his gall bladder removed yesterday. Thankfully, the infection that brought about its removal had nothing to do with his recent strokes. Also, he's expected to recover from the surgery and return "home" to the rehab facility fairly quickly. Anyway, here's hoping this is my dad's last step backward on his road to recovery.

See also: Previous posts about my dad