When it comes to ol' Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, I'm clearly 'part of the problem'

Any of you who have spent even a bit of time on sites like NeoGAF should be well acquainted with the phrase that makes up the tail end of the headline above.

And if you're not? No worries. Basically, some gamers tell other gamers they're "part of the problem" when they, say, buy Super Mario Bros. via the 3DS eShop after they've already bought it via the Wii Virtual Console or bought the "Classic NES Series" version released for the GameBoy Advance back in 2004.

I'm often "part of the problem," by the way--although I'm guessing a good portion of you already knew or guessed as much.

Anyway, why am I "part of the problem" when it comes to Theatrhythm Final Fantasy? Why, because I've already started buying DLC tracks for this more-addictive-than-it-has-any-right-to-be 3DS title, that's why.

Specifically, I just bought three delicious (in my opinion, of course) DLC tracks for 99 cents a pop: Final Fantasy IV's "The Final Battle," Final Fantasy V's "In Search of Light" and Final Fantasy VI's "Battle."

I'm having an especially good time with "In Search of Light"--although, really, that shouldn't be much of a surprise, as I've always been gaga for anything related to the fifth iteration of Final Fantasy.

I'm finding myself similarly smitten with Final Fantasy VII's "One-Winged Angel." That one does surprise me a bit, to tell you the truth. Of course, I've never been the biggest fan of this 1997 release, so that's probably why.

All that said, playing through the Final Fantasy VII tracks that are included here has me itching to give the game a second chance. Maybe I'll do just that--and then play through both Final Fantasy V and VI again, just for kicks--as soon as I've tried of Theatrhythm Final Fantasy.

I think I'm in love (again)

With whom? Or with what?

Interestingly, both questions are applicable in this case, since I'm both in love with a what (the flute-and-trumpet-centric cover of Rhythm Heaven's "Munchy Monk 2" that can be found below and here) and a who (the adorkable guy who created it).



Don't worry, I'm not seriously considering leaving my husband for this guy (who calls himself The 8-Bit Dreamer, by the way). For the sake of our marriage, though, let's hope he doesn't decide to take things down a notch, so to speak, and cover Rhythm Tengoku's "Bon Odori."

(Via tinycartridge.com)

This one's for the ladies

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Deep thoughts (or not) on a quintet of recent 3DS demos

The brass at Nintendo may have been a bit slow to add demos to the 3DS eShop, but they've done their best to pick up the pace over the last few weeks.

Being the sucker that I am for free stuff (even when that free stuff constitutes just a small portion of a game and can only be played a limited number of times), I downloaded a number of said demos recently and gave them the old college try. My thoughts on each of these bite-sized experiences are below.

Heroes of Ruin--I'm sure this admission will cause some of you to get the vapors, but it can't be helped: I knew next to nothing about this Square Enix-published title before acquiring this demo. As such, you could say my expectations were about as low as you can get. Did that help me enjoy this bit o' Heroes of Ruin more than I may have otherwise? I'm can't say, unfortunately. What I can say is that the game looks nice enough--or at least nicer than I thought it would. Also, I like that you can customize your characters to a fairly high degree. That said, I didn't find the gameplay all that captivating and I doubt I'll be adding this title to my overly long 3DS wish list.

Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance--Full disclosure: Before I played through this demo, I'd never before played a Kingdom Hearts game. I've always thought this series looked nice, but the seeimingly one-dimensional gameplay just didn't appeal to me. Still, I thought I should try this demo, as it would give me a chance to see if these games are more or less superficial (for lack of a better word) than I've long imagined them to be. The verdict, after spending a good bit of time with its demo: Dream Drop Distance actually seems to be a deeper experience than I expected it be. Running around Traverse Town was a thrill, as was battling the title's rather whimsically designed baddies. I'd be lying if I said I was now planning on buying this entry in the Kingdom Hearts series, but I may pick up the original release sometime soon and progress from there should I dig it.

Five favorites: PC Engine platformers that don't involve Pithecanthropus Computerus

At first, coming up with a list of favorite PC Engine platformers that don't feature the third wheel in the race of the 16-bit mascots--that would be the "Pithecanthropus Computerus" mentioned in the headline above, who also goes by "PC Genjin" and "Bonk"--seems like a daunting task. After all, when most folks think of NEC's pint-sized system (the Japanese one, at least), the first games that come to mind are Hudson's PC Genjin trio (otherwise known as Bonk's Adventure, Bonk's Revenge and Bonk's Big Adventure in North America).

Think about it for a bit, though, and it becomes apparent that this "little console that could"--because it ably competed with the Genesis/Mega Drive and the SNES/Super Famicom despite the fact that it wasn't a full-fledged 16-bit system--was home to a number of top-shelf run-and-jump (or hop-and-bop) titles.

The five below are my personal favorites. Notice I'm not saying that I think they're the best platformers to grace the PC Engine. Although a couple of them are sure to fit that bill, others are too flawed to be so highly considered. Still, I can't help but like them more than a few of their closer-to-perfect counterparts.

One last thing before I get on with the show, so to speak: I'm not including single-screen platformers--games like Don Doko Don and Parasol Stars--in this post, mainly because they differ pretty substantially from the side-scrolling affairs discussed below.

Bikkuriman World--What a way to start a post like this, eh? I say that because many PC Engine fans likely consider this game's successors, Adventure Island and Dynastic Hero (they're all part of the Wonder Boy series), to be far superior efforts. Although I'd agree with those folks in some respects, I've spent a lot more time playing Bikkuriman World than I have playing either of its follow-ups over the years. I can't really tell you why that is, sadly, although if I had to guess I'd say that it's because I actually like the rather antiquated look--yes, even the Kewpie doll-esque protagonist--and feel of this particular HuCard. Also, I'm a bit of a masochist, which is a must for anyone who wants to tackle this tough-as-nails title.

Mizubaku Daibouken--You certainly don't have to be masochist to enjoy this Taito-made title, which was released outside of Japan as Liquid Kids. That's because this platformer is as cute as can be, what with its bubble-tossing protagonist, adorable enemies (I especially like the ones that look like tottering strawberries) and colorful stages that take players from a lush forest, to (what appears to be) a water-filled cave, to a sandy pyramid. Just because it's cute, though, doesn't mean it's a cake walk. In fact, I've yet to see the end credits of Mizubaku Daibouken--despite spending quite a bit of time with it. My favorite part of this game: Tossing "water bombs" (yeah, I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean either) at anything and everything. Believe me when I say it's addictive.