“What A Kawaii Day!”

And I’m back already! Like I mentioned last time, I’m kinda backlogged, so time to dive head first into a bunch of random game-related bits and pieces (again, lots of old links to be sure, though not to those of you out there that don’t surf gaming message boards 24/7, I’m almost certain)….

- I mentioned shirts last time, and most recently I discovered these: Virtua Fighter shirts courtesy of UNIQLO…

… I first found them via UK Resistance and immediately went on NeoGAF to find out if anyone in the England would be willing to pick them up for me, only to discover that, not is it sold out there, but they were actually available in the NYC store for a while, which I obviously had no clue about. Damn.

- So the war between Rock Band and Guitar Hero seems to only intensify. Perhaps folks on the street might be surprised to hear this (okay, maybe not), but some of us in the gaming press world is well aware of their rivalry, and how hot it is, for some time now. Though I’m guessing the secret is getting out with the latest tit for tat regarding their drum kits.

As noted previously, I’m looking to get my hands on Rock Band 2 for the Xbox 360, especially since it comes out first! But mostly so I can not only play all the new stuff, but all the DLC for part 1, as well as all the original songs imported. But because I already have four guitar controllers (GH1 & 2 for the PS2, and two RB1 guitars for the Wii), I was only going to get one and possibly a GH4 guitar, just to see what that’s like (especially since MS and Sony want all their stuff to be cross compatible). But now I’ve heard that I might be able to use my RB1 Wii guitars on the 360 for RB2, which would be awesome. I guess I should drop them a line for some clarification…

- Or I could simply ditch everything and get Guitar Praise and GIVE MY SOUL TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

- Oh and Brett Ratner, the guy who made that shitty X-Men movie, wants to direct a Guitar Hero movie. Ummm, weren’t we supposed to get a Crazy Taxi flick first?

- The third ridiculous Rock Band/Guitar Hero item of the day is an oldie, but a goodie: some kid recently dropped out of high school to concentrate on his GH skills, and his parents approved. What the fuck is wrong with people?

- Here’s something Jason recently gave me the head’s up on: I’ve been Wikipedia-ed in Japan!

The real funny part is how the referenced post starts with me giving some big warning about there being many pics ahead, which I guess was the case back in 2005, but nowadays I have ten times as much on average. Well, I find it humorous at least. Okay, enough ego-stroking for now…

- And here’s something that Joe Salina passed along: a video of some guy playing Sonic 1 while chatting in a nice and calm, soothing voice with sexy jazz in background.

The same dude is also plays through Super Tempo as a talk show radio host, an ultra obscure Saturn platformer that I actually own but have only played for about 30 seconds, as well as TryRush Deppy as Mayou Angelo(?!?!), a title that I unfortunately missed out on.

- Going back to Japan and Nintendo, remember that ultra WACKY JAPPY title I mentioned a while ago, Captain Rainbow? Well, here’s the official homepage, first off. Unfortunately, no world on a domestic release (I’m certainly not holding my breath), which totally blows since the more I hear about it, the more I totally need to get my hands on a translated copy.

Especially after hearing that a major part of the game revolves around dealing with various past their primes Nintendo characters, including the “is it a he or a she?” pink bird boss from Super Mario 2 and how you have to bust her ass out of jail because everyone thinks it was a he trying to use a lady toilet. Once again, WACKY JAPPY!!! SO KAWAII!!!

- Came across this on Amazon: The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy. I’ll let the product description do all the talking here:

“With both young and adult gamers as loyal fans, The Legend of Zelda is one of the most beloved video game series ever created. The contributors to this volume consider the following questions and more: What is the nature of the gamer?s connection to Link? Does Link have a will, or do gamers project their wills onto him? How does the gamer experience the game? Do the rules of logic apply in the game world? How is space created and distributed in Hyrule (the fictional land in which the game takes place)? How does time function? Is Zelda art? Can Hyrule be seen as an ideal society? Can the game be enjoyable without winning? The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy not only appeals to Zelda fans and philosophers but also puts video games on the philosophical map as a serious area of study.”

Sounds pretty interesting. Okay, I’m sold. I’m especially interested in seeing how they address all the various timelines of the series (which is one of the main reasons why I loved Wind Waker so much). Then again, the folks behind this particular books is also behind a bunch of other “and Philosophy” books, featuring Battlestar Galactica and the iPod?

- I normally hate on G4, like everyone else (though Ninja Warrior is still very much awesome), but their Will Wright Minutes are actually pretty neat, like this one on the Russian Space Station, and this one on Care Bears.

- I also normally could care less about parody game pieces, since most fall flat on their faces, but I mist admit, this particular one on face 2600 games did get a few chuckles out of me, if only because of the Kramer vs Kramer and Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas mentions.

- Some folks, who know that I am increasingly becoming annoyed with the whole world of “serious games” often ask why, but from now on, I’m just going to forward them this post from Water Cooler Games, which sums it all up all very nicely for me already.

- This has been making the rounds all day, and I gotta say, I kinda want one…

… For more info, simply head on over to Technabob.

- Speaking of Space Invaders, there’s a WiiWare title on the way called Space Invaders Get Even in which you (finally) play the role of the bad guys. Looks… like a WiiWare game alright.

(fake) EDIT: Hey, just found some more info, courtesy of Siliconera…

And since I haven’t mentioned it here yet, for the two people out there who haven’t heard, there was a fusion of Space Invaders and 9/11 that caused quite the stir at the Games Convention at Leipzig that Kotaku was all over at the time (which I basically compiled into one handy little forum thread).

- Also via Siliconera is an interview with the person behind the next last Dreamcast game, Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles.

I actually got the chance to play the game not too long ago; it was part of the Independent Games Festival, mobile devision, which I was a judge for as some folks might recall. And it wasn’t half bad! The music in particular was outstanding.

- Time for the obligatory Gamasutra link: this one is an interview with Hirokazu Yasuhara, the man behind all the levels in Sonic 1, as well one of the main dudes behind Sonic R, which I still think isn’t that bad of a game! At least the soundtrack still rocks.

- Hey, let’s talk about shumps! First off, has anyone out there ever played Shienryu Explosion? What about AIRRADE? How would one go about acquiring the second game? I’m hoping to find the first one, somewhere at Black Cats, provided it does have a PS2 release.

- Cave’s got two new shumps coming out. The first is Death Smiles, that’s all Gothic Lolita and shit…

… Looks hawt! And then you have the second, which no one knows the name of yet, that also stars girls, but they’re much younger, and…. questionable looking. I guess Otomedius isn’t the only Moe-riffic shooting action in town?

- Apparently not! G.rev also has a cutsey shump on the way called Mamoru-kun wa Norowarete Shimatta! in development, and Insert Credit recently posted links to both wallpapers and a playguide!

- Via the Japanese shumps blog, Saganami Kaihen, which has pics of the WiiWare Gradius remake…

Then there’s this mysterious looking Xbox 360 shump, which I have not a single clue about…

(actual) EDIT: I just realized that most of those screenshots are from Thunder Force 6 for the PS2! I guess when I saw that first screen of the 360 controller, I assumed they were all related, but now I’m guessing its just for the game immediately following it.

- The gay guys are back! And they’re heading to the PSP.

- And according to Insert Credit (via Sazanami/Saganami Kaihen once again), Shooting Love is coming to the 360!

BTW, here’s a YouTube video of the game in action which some might recall me running into during my trip to Japan last year. So I guess Shooting Love is the Shumps Skill Test, or is a part of it? And how does Exzeal it into things? I’m still a little confused about that part.

- Sticking with Insert Credit, might as well head on over there to see what’s cooking (or unearthed, to more precise)…

… Some person has developed an ultra low-profile, and completely open source 8-bit console called the Uzebox that sounds pretty damn amazing, and looks it too:

… Here’s a whole bunch of videos featuring actual footage from assorted M2 titles, which some might recall was supposed to be the successor to the 3D0. My God, after all these years… to FINALLY see the original D2 in motion.

… There’s apparently an upgrade to Arcana Heart 2 (which I still haven’t played yet, despite spotting it at Chinatown Fair the one time I went to play SF4, and it was completely deserted as well) called Amazing Arcana Heart 2, and features some new playable characters including a girl that rides a wolf and uses a croquet mallet. Neat!

… I actually came across it myself some time before, though I forget how exactly, but am glad to be reminded of its existence; the theme to Mega Man 3, plus lyrics. Oh, I remember now. One night I spent almost three hours on YouTube sticking to just Mega Man videos alone, either music videos (to bad there’s none for part 3) or clips from assorted hacks.

… Check out these contemporary games (as well as some classics), totally re-envisioned for the original black & white Game Boy. They are beyond amazing:

… God, I absolutely LOVE hearing about old, never released games for the Jaguar, especially Jaguar CD.

… And thanks to Insert Credit, I am now officially interested in Princess Debut (because it’s by Cave, plus I tend to trust Brandon’s recommendations).

… Moving onto the IC forums: here’s a thread concerning a fan-made Virtual On flick that’s in the works. And here’s one regarding emulation on the Xbox 1, which in features various vids of ultra crappy, Asia only games (not including Metal Wolf Chaos, of course), such N.U.D.E.@Natural Ultimate Digital Experiment. I had no idea that there was a Shin Megami Tensei title for the system!

… Plus, here’s a thread on Street Fighter 4 that was going just fine till I popped in to pass along my two cents, and, well, you can see for yourself. My favorite part would have to be the vitriolic reaction to my stance that, whatever is fair within the context of a fighting game, i.e. the tools that is offered to you, is fair:

“Yes, videogames are always expertly crafted and perfectly balanced since the industry has long since honed its craft to the point where they get everything completely right on the very first release. It’s exactly that simple, and it has nothing to do at all with whether or not it’s actually in the spirit of fairness or fun. Since it’s just a videogame, you can ignore such considerations that require intelligent thought and adopt a totally appropriate attitude of cynicism. Making it a videogame means you, too, can act like the wiggers, chiggers, wannabe gangstas, and other fighting game tough guys by taking something created to entertain its users and completely sacrifice the concept of enjoyment for the sake of a pixelated win icon. Just like the kid that Shoto’d you in 3 seconds. That was fun, right?”

… Then there’s…

“i bet if more white people played street fighter you wouldn’t have a problem with it.”

“Yeah. Either that, or if it were less played by people so desperate for a national identity that becoming a stereotype looks like a good idea. Ching chong bing bong Mr. Pinoy, kung fu and fighting games make chi frah rah taste goo!”

- I guess it?s finally time to bring it into the home stretch! First up… So what’s the deal behind video game scores anyhow?

- Then you have this thread in which I seriously thought about getting my very own arcade cabinet!

- And how about this discussion on arty fart games that turns into talk about…. Wes Anderson?

- Regarding Mortal Kombat vs DC: it’s amazing how much of a difference a single animated gif can make!

- Am I just being a cheap-ass?

- For those into chiptunes…. BTW, I highly recommend the seventh track in the covers folder, which is a jaw-droppingly spot-on cover of my favorite track from Sonic 3.

- Here you’ll find plenty of talk about assorted 360 games from myself and Dave about Braid, Bionic Commando Rearmed, Galaga Legions, and Castle Crashers.

- Via the random video game videos thread comes this awesome Konami vs Capcom vid. Once again, I HAVE to fucking figure out how to get Mugen up and running on my end.

- Moving away from video games… Dear Bono, please shut.

- Ever wanted to know how to hack the subway? And I’m pretty shocked that PDF is still there.

- Screw baseball, I want to play some bossball!

- Something about women and time warps and something.

- Ever feel like reminding yourself that the Olympics was pretty fucking lame? Well now you can!

- Let’s talk about… nerdcore. Or maybe not.

- Ice T has a posse and its name is 4chan.

- Ham and cheese is no longer just for eating folks!

- Note to self: add Showgirls to my Netflix que.

- The new cat thread is still…. CUTE!!!