Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Why Japanese boxart is better?......(are they?)

Personally I am a person who could not care less about the box arts of games as I rarely take out those game boxes that I own and marvel at the awesomeness of the beautiful box art. But for some, they are just particularly fussy about this issue and I personally know a friend who can get a myriad versions of a particular game just because the same game from other regions feature prettier boxarts. I dont know the rationale behind this habit(nor I dont think I will for the rest of my life) but I guess pretty boxarts hold special spots in my friend heart. Anyway, unless the boxarts really differs that much like Mystery Dungeon: Shiren The Wanderer on Nintendo DS, I guess I will just settle with the so called inferior boxart of North America release.
North Amerika box art. Looks fine in your opinion? Wait until you scroll down and look at the Japan box art.


Hands down, this definitely looks much better than the NA counterpart and I wonder who has decided to change the boxart and maybe that is why this game bombed in NA.

Gameradar has recently posted an article comparing the boxarts of North Amerika and Japan games. You will be amazed at how different the boxarts could be and leave you wondering that some ugly boxarts are just not meant to be published.

An archievement!

It has been a long long time that I didnt post anything here because my schedule is so packed nowadays and I can hardly find time to online, let alone blogging? Anyway, when I checked my blog again recently, I found out that my blog, Gaming Euphoria has finally amassed at least 1000 visitors( I myself contributed to some of the visits as I will check frequently to find out who will post comments or just drop some messages at the chatter box) and although it is by no mean a great archievement, it still means something to me.

Next target? Hopefully my blog can hit the 10000 visitors. It may seem a long journey to go but I think with the supports of those who frequently visit my blog, it is not a dream. For those who visit my blog, dont forget to leave your message at the chatter box or just comment on any posts and I will certainly reply to it whenever I am free. For those who have already added me into your friend roaster, please kindly let me know too as I will do the same.

Thanks again for all the supports.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Nintendo E3 2008 afterthought

To be honest, I am quite disappointed in this year E3 Nintendo conference(or should I say this is by far the worst Nintendo E3 conference?). There are nothing major(oh come on, Animal Crossing for Wii and Grand Theft Auto for Nintendo DS? You gotta be kidding me) for core gamers and mostly the news are mainly catered to the expanded casual audiences. But I guess Nintendo still has some interesting peripherals up its sleeves.

The first peripheral is Wii Motionplus that can be attached to the ends of Wiimotes. It will provide true 1:1 response and Wii Sports Resort is the first game that fully utilizes this peripheral. Have a look at Reggis and Cammie trying to beat the hell out of each other in Wii Sports Resort sword fight. Impressive huh?

This accessory will surely open up more possibilities in gameplay and more fresh and new ideas can be incorporated in games. I am definitely looking forward to what other game developers could come out with. This baby and Wii Sports Resort are slated for release spring 2009 and the bundle of this baby and Wii Sports Resort is priced at usd49.90. For more info regarding Wii Motionplus, please kindly refer here.


The second peripheral by Nintendo is Wii Speak which allows players to chat while playing games online. The first game that supports this is Animal Crossing City Folks. Unlike the normal headsets that you use while playing Xbox 360 or PS3 online, this accessory is placed on top of TV so it allows room to room conversation, not just person to person conversation. I see this as a fine protective move of Nintendo as the kids wont be daring enough to thrash talk at the living rooms or else the they are going to have a hard time with their parents. Kudos to Nintendo for figuring this out. Hopefully more and more games can utilize this accessory. Currently it is priced at usd29.90 and should be available along with Animal Crossing City Folks.

After talking about the hardwares, lets go into the software part. Before this, Reggis promises that they will announce games to satisfy core gamers at E3. So far, what did we get? Animal Crossing City Folks for Wii and Grand Theft Auto China Town for Nintendo DS. Oh my god, if he thinks that we, the long supporting Nintendo fans are going to happy with this, I can happily(or sadly?) say that we are not! First of all, I dont really consider Animal Crossing to be a game that could cater to hardcore gamers. And I think this game will mostly be gobbled up by many casual gamers, which leads to this game staying in the charts for month. Smart move huh, Nintendo? But sorry, I myself was having a hard time playing the Nintendo DS version and I have sold it not long after. This game is just not something for me. Secondly, Grand Theft Auto for Nintendo DS.... It is slated for release this winter 2008 but at the conference there is no footage of this game, no trailer or any test playing whatsoever. So how can they expect us to be excited of this game? Deep down in my heart I was thinking if the graphics are just like the GBA version, which dont really suit the sand box gameplay. Anyway, even if it is in 3d open world, I am still not going to get it because I have no interest in sandbox games. Gosh, the software lineup that Nintendo announced didnt impress me and I was left in disappointment hoping for more great games from third parties but still there are nothing worth mentioning Nintendo DS titles.

Aside from some interesting peripherals that Nintendo announced, the software line up totally fails and it would dawn to us, hardcore gamers that Nintendo is simply ignoring us hardcore gamers. Even Dead Rising for Wii is not announced at the conference and we only found out about this at Famitsu....... Gosh, Miyamoto told us that E3 will no longer be the place to announce games for hardcore gamers, so he better honours his words and brings us some good news later......

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Play Asia Summer Sale is back again!



Wooh, finally the annually sale is here again. All items in stock at Play Asia have been discounted for 25% and this seems like a great deal for me. Everything included the games, guide books or accessories of various consoles is discounted(I do check and find out that the consoles are excluded though)! The ongoing sale will last till Sunday, 20th July 2008. Even though by now some hot and popular items maybe(should be) snatched by those first comers, there are still some hidden gems waiting for you to uncover. I myself have purchased Rondo of Swords for Nintendo DS(finally! The price is too tempting that I cant resist it!) and might get something else if I have some extra cash later.

So what are you waiting for? Go and fish for octopuses now(items that have been discounted will have a cute octopus tag)!

Friday, July 11, 2008

Limited edition Nintendo DS Lite

Today someone at LYN showed us that Play Asia is selling an absurdly overpriced Baby Milo edition of Nintendo DS Lite and when I checked at the site, it features not only one but 4 limited edition of Nintendo DS Lite. Shall we have a look at those expensive consoles?

1) Nintendo DS Lite(Baby Milo Edition by A Bathing Ape X Nintendo-Mario To Milo)-usd699.90

Some of the forumers dont understand why it costs usd699.90 while you can get this easily if you just buy some stickers and slap the stickers into your Nintendo DS. But I dont think that those are stickers and they are supposed to be etched into the console itself hence it wont fade easily. Anyway, this console is very rare hence resulting in its exorbitant price. Many Bape fans lined up when it was released and it was sold out very fast. Look at the line here before the console was released!

I guess for ordinary gamers like me the price is just not worth it as we can get so many games with the money. Anyway, I am sure there are some Bape fans out there who wish to get it, so dont hesitate to head over to Play Asia and get it now before it is out of stock. Currently Play Asia is only selling the white version and for those who are interested in the gold version, you might want to wait for a while before it is listed at the site.

2. Nintendo DS Lite(honeyee.com x fragment edition)-usd499.90

The second expensive Nintendo DS Lite on Play Asia currently. It is a collobration project between Nintendo, Honeyee and Fragment. This console looks cooler than the Baby Milo Nintendo DS Lite in my opinion because of its unique color combination. Unlike the normal Crimson/Black or Cobalt/Black Nintendo DS Lite where only the upper and outer body of Nintendo will be either red or blue while the rest body will be black, this awesome edition of Nintendo DS Lite will be black when it it closed while the inner part is total white. Speaking of universally agreed combination of awesomeness!

3. Nintendo DS Lite(Nenga New Year Greeting Special Edition)-usd499.90

This console is by far the worst among the 4 limited editions that I include in this post. I dont think that the price is justified. What is special about this unit? It was an exlusive all red console. But do note that the same color of Nintendo DS Lite is now available to Europe market and it wont be as expensive as this unit. Other than the color itself(and this is no longer the selling point) and the fact that it comes with several unreadable paper(for me at least as I dont understand Japanese words), it is nothing special and it is better off if you use the extra money to get something else. Please stay away from this if you plan to get it!

4. Nintendo DS Lite(Crimson/Black Dragon iQue DS special edition)-usd299.90


The last Nintendo DS that I am going to mention here is the China exclusive limited edition and it was released during Chinese New Year 2008 for China. It is a crimson/black Nintendo DS Lite that features a dragon painting on its outer body. The dragon painting looks cool and it means prosperity in Chinese culture.

Wow, after 3 years Nintendo DS has been released, there are so many colors available and now so many limited editions could be found. As for me, since I am not really interested in getting limited edition of Nintendo DS Lite(I would rather use the money to get more games) as they are sometimes too overpriced, I can only drool at those pictures. But I know there are some hardcore Nintendo DS collectors out there who are interested to gobble down every single edition of Nintendo DS Lite, so dont miss you chance and head over to Play Asia now to make your purchase.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

What awaits me?

Woot, I have always been nervous while anticipating for my parcel to reach me even though I already know the content of it. I guess it happens to everyone and it is the magic of traditional postage!

Anyway, when i went back yesterday, this is what awaited me.



Slowly unwrapped it and this is what inside it!

A euro version of Hotel Dusk Room 215. It makes me wonder why Why_79 never figured out it is this title although I have given him enough hint.

Well, this is the first point and click adventure game that I have and it shall serve as an experiment before getting Phoenix Wright series. After playing it I will know whether I am suited for games that require lots of reading(ya know this genre requires more readings than rpg series?). So anyone who owns this game and has a blast with it?

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Zero satisfaction?




Zero satisfaction. This was initially my feeling when I started playing Metroid Zero Mission because this game is basically a remake of the original Metroid on NES and for those who keep tab of my blog, you should notice somewhere in the blog that I did mention Castlevania series is better than Metroid series.

Ok then, I retract my previous statement now. Metroid Zero Mission is actually an enjoyable game and it is equally as good as Castlevania series, if not better.

Recently I picked up the game again and to my amaze, I managed to complete this game with some help of Gamefaq. The biggest surprise is during the middle of the game, I can control Zero Suit Samus, which is cooler than controlling her in the Super Smash Bros Brawl in my opinion. There is a catch though. Since Zero Suit Samus doesnt have armor nor any weapon, the gameplay is a little different than the usual shoot-and-destroy gameplay. It is Metal Gear Solid-esque, where you should try your best to avoid yourself from being found by the enemies lurking around as you are very fragile in Zero Suit Samus.This special mode is only available in Metroid Zero Mission only and not available in the original Metroid and I would say that this inclusion alone warrants this purchase.

For those who are familiar with this series, they should know that this series has so many endings that you have to fulfill certain conditions(like getting 100% of item or complete the game under certain time) to unlock variable endings. So far I only manage to get one ending but in order to complete the Gallery Mode, I guess I will be coming back soon for another fix of Metroid session.

Now where can I get Metroid Fussion? Can I hope for announcement of Metroid Dreaded in the next E3?

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

The Ultimate Mega Man Retrospective.


Recognise every Mega Man character above?

With the recent confirmation of Capcom that Mega Man 9 will only appear on Wii(no other platforms have been announced but I think sooner or later Xbox 360 and PS3 will get their shares of Mega Man 9 too), it is time for us to look back at the series that has spawned over 100 different games over 20 years.

This 7 pages retrospective from Gameradar has mainly described the games of Mega Man series consisting from Mega Man 1 to Mega Man 8 like telling some major updates in every game and some notable stages and bosses(who can forget Snake Man?). It also features many spinoffs(and some unbeknown to me, like the Mega Man board game on NES)like the famous-than-original-megaman Mega Man ZX, the first Mega Man that made its first foray into 3d world, Mega Man Legend.

This is a retrospective that you should not miss if you are the fan of the series and waiting for the upcoming Mega Man 9, and even if you are not, it serves as good info to introduce you to this already famous side scrolling games. Really, every gamer out there should try at least one Mega Man game, as it has spawned so many games and ventured into so many genres that it is not possible if you cant find one Mega Man game that you like.