March 22, 2005
Catching Up: Part I
I'm alive! I have to apologize for being gone almost an entire month; work has been unbelievably busy as of late, and I've been working till the wee hours of the morning pretty much every night (including weekends). I love the work, so I can't complain, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to this project being over so I can finally get back to having a life and catching up on all the games I've bought over the past couple of months.
There's no way I can cover everything in one entry, so I'll try to break it up over the next few days (weeks?) if I can. Before I start on that, though, a couple of quick notes:
1. You may have noticed that the main home for this site has moved. The URL is now www.nokonoko.net. My old site, super deluxe, has been moved to ura.nokonoko.net, since I don't update it anymore.
2. I'm going to be starting up a photo gallery at some point soon to host some of my favorite pictures. It seems a lot of people visited my old site for the photos, so when I do that I'll be sure to make an announcement about it here.
3. Some of you have asked what "minna ni naisho dayo" means. It's the Japanese version of "It's a secret to everybody," the infamous line spoken by the hidden Molblins scattered about Hyrule in the first Legend of Zelda game. You can find a screenshot of it at the top of my 1UP.com home page. Don't tell anyone, though -- after all, it is a secret to everybody. :)
Now, back to business. Today I'll cover some new (okay, old) Nintendo hardware and the DS games I've purchased over the past few weeks:
New Hardware: Nintendo Color TV-Game 6 (JP)
Platform: Color TV-Game 6 (JP)
Where: Super Potato Osaka
When: March 20
How Much: 2,980 yen (3,129 yen w/tax)
I don't usually buy old hardware, but this one I couldn't really pass up: Nintendo's first-ever home videogame console, the Color TV-Game 6. It was released in 1977 and features "six" games -- Hockey, Volleyball and Tennis, each with one- and two-player modes and options to change the speed and the size of the "rackets." I'll probably try it out someday just for kicks, but the main reason I bought it was just to own it, really. I've had an uncanny amount of good fortune when it comes to Nintendo-related stuff over the years, so I figured I'd give back a little bit and purchase a small piece of their history. :)
New Game: Touch! Kirby (JP)
Title: Touch! Kirby
Platform: Nintendo DS (JP)
Publisher: Nintendo
Where: Dreamland
When: March 21
How Much: 4,480 yen (4,704 yen w/tax)
The latest Kirby hits Japan this Thursday, and although I haven't had a whole lot of time to mess with it yet, initial impressions are very positive. Unlike previous first party DS games, this one actually looks like it may have a lot of content, which is what Nintendo desperately needs right now. It came with a free "Kirby Pink" touch pen, too, though I think I'm gonna pass on using that one...
New Game: Meteos (JP)
Title: Meteos
Platform: Nintendo DS (JP)
Publisher: Bandai
Where: Dreamland
When: March 8
How Much: 4,541 yen (4,800 yen w/tax)
I was as jazzed as the next guy for this game, especially after seeing it get two 10s in Famitsu (yes, I know Famitsu's reviews are about as trustworthy as a used-car salesman, but still), but the final game left me feeling pretty disappointed. The interface, the visuals, the audio...everything about the game is extremely polished, as one would expect from a guy like Masahiro Sakurai (creator of Kirby and designer of the Smash Bros. games), but one critical flaw ruins everything: when the action starts to get too intense, you merely need to scratch the screen furiously (you don't even need to look where you're scratching) to pretty much clear out the entire playfield and proceed as if nothing happened. With virtually no risk of losing, even on the harder difficulty levels, I just can't motivate myself to play the game, even if I try not to use this "feature" (yes, they're trying to justify it as a feature, if you can believe that).
Still, many people (my girlfriend included) seem to love it, so I'm not saying it's not for everyone. Without that one flaw it does seem like an extremely well-made puzzler, and it's packed with cool stuff to unlock. With any luck, maybe they'll fix this problem for the US version and I can take another stab at it.
New Game: Pac-Pix (JP)
Title: Pac-Pix
Platform: Nintendo DS (JP)
Publisher: Namco
Where: Dreamland
When: March 8
How Much: 4,541 yen (4,800 yen w/tax)
I've been pretty vocal about my dislike for the fact that Namco was planning to charge full price for this "game," but in the end, I guess it's not all that bad. The gameplay is extremely simplistic, but it's challenging enough to keep you coming back, and there's enough variety to keep things from getting too repetitive. Unfortunately, just as things start to get really interesting, it ends. There's a "second quest" of sorts, with remixed levels and more challenging enemies, but it's still not all that much for a game with a $45 cover price. At $20, I'd say it's a great deal, but at the current price, I'm not so sure.
The free touch pen that came with the first shipment is extremely cool, however, and gets my vote for best DS stylus so far. Here it is, along with the regular and "Kirby Pink" pens:
New Game: Another Code: Futatsu no Kioku (JP)
Title: Another Code: Futatsu no Kioku
Platform: Nintendo DS (JP)
Publisher: Nintendo
Where: Dreamland
When: February 21
How Much: 4,480 yen (4,704 yen w/tax)
(The subtitle translates to "Two Memories," for those of you who aren't familiar with the Japanese.)
Finally, we have Another Code, Nintendo's new graphic adventure game for the DS. I haven't actually played this much beyond the first chapter so I don't have a whole lot to say about it yet, but it seems decent so far. The story is very interesting, but some of the puzzles seem a bit random, and the controls aren't always as intuitive as you'd like them to be. Still, it seems promising, so I'll definitely be getting back to it once I have some free time.
I'd better get back to work now -- I'll be back with more soon!