12 import games I bought in 2012 but didn't tell you about until now: Dragon Quest Monsters (GameBoy Color)

I know what at least a few of you are thinking right now: "Wait a second ... you bought a copy of Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry's Wonderland even though you don't understand Japanese?"

Yes, I did. There's more to the story, though, than me stupidly spending money on a game that's surely going to force me to consult a guide or an FAQ should I want to get through it.

You see, I came across this particular copy--and its wonderfully colorful cover art--of the original Dragon Quest Monsters while perusing eBay on a quiet Sunday morning this past May.

(OK, so I don't remember if it was a Sunday morning or if it even happened in May, but it did happen sometime early this year.)

Anyway, it caught my attention because it was selling for just one cent (plus a few bucks for shipping). "That's interesting," I thought. So, I placed a bid for, you guessed it, a single cent--with no expectation that I'd actually "win" the auction at that price (or at any price, to tell you the truth).

Of course I did win it, although I'm not exactly sure what to do with it now that I own it. Oh, well, the cover art isn't nice, don't you think? Also, its instruction manual may be a good candidate for a future installment of "Manual Stimulation."

One last thing before I hit "publish": Two additional (and more intriguing, if you ask me) photos of this acquisition can be found on my Flickr photostream, should any of you be interested in such things.

See also: Previous '12 import games I bought in 2012 but didn't tell you about until now' posts

Mimi's Adventures in Miminton, Part 3

Let it be known that winter is my, er, Mimi's favorite season. Why? Snow, of course.

As such, it wouldn't be much of a stretch to say Dec. 10 was, thus far, one of the best days of 2013 for ol' Mimi--since that's when Miminton finally found itself blanketed with the stuff that's scientifically known as flakes of crystalline water ice.

As you'd expect, Mimi made the most of her hometown's first wintry day. After wildly racing around for a bit and sliding head-first into the sign in the screenshot below (hence Mimi's more-buggy-than-usual eyes), though, she settled down and returned to her favorite of her daily chores: that being the digging up of bells, fossils and gyroids.

Speaking of the digging up of bells: Mimi really hit the jackpot on Miminton's first official day of winter. (Serious question: Have any of you dug up 30,000 bells before? I didn't even know it was possible before this occurrence.)

Her pal Mumu was pretty lucky that day, too--although her luck was a smidge less lucrative than Mimi's.

Anyway, enough about luck and money and all that jazz. We're supposed to be talking about Mimi and Momo and Mumu--OK, and sometimes Leelee, too (note to self: you have way too many Animal Crossing characters)--and their wonderful lives in Miminton, right?

12 import games I bought in 2012 but didn't tell you about until now: Inazuma Eleven (DS)

OK, so the title I'm focusing on in today's "12 import games I bought in 2012 but didn't tell you about until now" post isn't as thrilling as the one I wrote about yesterday--or at least I don't think it's as thrilling.

Still, it's an import, and a fairly odd one at that (thanks to it being a soccer-based RPG), so at least it's not a total loss.

Would you believe that I've yet to spend much quality time with this pick-up? Yeah, I thought you would--especially given the track record suggested by the majority of my "Acquisition #123" posts.



Actually, I'm kind of amazed it's even been unwrapped, as I honestly don't remember playing it at all since it arrived on my doorstep a number of months ago.

I guess I should have included Inazuma Eleven in one of those silly posts--like "Five games I have to get back to (and hopefully finish) in 2013" or "Five games I have to rip from their shrink-wrap and actually play in 2013"--I published last week, eh?

See also: Previous '12 import games I bought in 2012 but didn't tell you about until now' posts

12 import games I bought in 2012 but didn't tell you about until now: Chack'n Pop (Famicom)

Let's start this series off with a bang, shall we?

Actually, "bang" is a good word to use in relation to this particular pick-up, as the titular Chack'n (the yellow thingamabob with blue wings and pink legs that can be seen on the box cover below) is all about dropping bombs as he meanders his way through the series of maze-like levels that make up this Taito-developed title.



As you may remember from this "Second Chances" post, I haven't always been a fan of this Bubble Bobble precursor. Once I had the little change of heart that I expounded upon in the aforementioned post, though, I knew I had to own the game's Famicom port.



Looking at this version's packaging, it's probably easy to understand why I decided to go with a "complete in box" copy of Chack'n Pop. I'm especially enamored with the cover art, of course--although I think the illustration that appears on the game's cartridge label (above) is nearly as nice.



How's Chack'n Pop's instruction manual? Funny you should ask. This copy of the game came with one, of course, but I can't remember whether it's good or bad. I'll have to dig it out of my stash after the holiday frenzy has died down and let you know either way, OK?

See also: Previous '12 games I bought in 2012 but didn't tell you about until now' posts

12 import games I bought in 2012 but didn't tell you about until now

How's this for thinking ahead: I've been working on this series of posts pretty much since the first day of 2012.

Note: The five Namco(t) Famicom games
in the photograph above were bought
prior to the beginning of 2012.

Of course, you're looking at someone who, as a kid, would sit--pad in one hand, pencil in the other--by the tree on Christmas day and work up his "wish list" for the next year's festivities.

As for this list (or, rather, series of posts), well, I'm pretty sure you can tell by its title what it will include.

If not, here's the gist: Between today and the last day of the month, I'm going to publish a post a day that focuses on a single import game that I bought during 2012 but didn't tell anyone about until now.

The first will appear tomorrow morning, by the way, while the last--the 12th--will appear on the morning of Jan. 31.

Anyway, I know it's all a bit silly, but I also think it could be kind of fun. And, really, shouldn't every year end with a little levity?

See also: 'The 12 Games of Christmas (2011)'