Gaming for Smart People
Despite arriving later in the Kansai area than Tokyo, the Super Famicom classic controllers for Wii have finally been sent out to Club Nintendo Platinum members. The controllers are an exact replica of the original Super Famicom controllers that were released in Japan, but have a classic controller plug, for that authentic Super Famicom experience when playing games on Virtual Console.
Visits to Osaka’s most colorful electronics district has been on the schedule for some time, but a number of prior and rather unavoidable engagements have left me with little time to geek out, as it were.
This past weekend was a blessing for me. Josh Weatherford from Prolefeed, Eric Koziol from Book of Revenant, and muramura from NeoGAF made themselves at home in the Osaka area for the weekend, which was not only made for a suitable breeding ground for gaming and debauchery, but it was the perfect opportunity to make a pilgrimage to Den Den Town.
Continue reading ‘Den Den Town Clean Up: エルドラドゲート (El Dorado Gate)’
It’s not every day one of your favorite gaming franchises sees the light of day as a table top board game. While a Metal Gear board game would make my day, Konami has yet to put that plan in motion. Instead, I found myself in Den Den Town last weekend, where I picked up a copy of of the Dragon Quest board game: Dragon Quest Dungeon R.
I usually try to space my visits to Den Den Town by a few months, but the urge to shop in my favorite district of Osaka (大阪) started to rear its ugly head this morning as I woke up to find I had stayed over at a friend’s apartment the night before, a mere three stops from Ebisucho (恵美須町) station.
When I emerged from the underground station right next to Super Potato, I noticed that it was before noon, so most stores were still closed. I decided to grab a bite to eat, and then start my shopping excursion for the day.
This week’s Den Den Clean up was slightly less expensive than some of the more ridiculous exploits. Usually I go on a mission to find a set of games I’ve wanted to find for some time, and they usually end up costing a small fortune to acquire. This week was not that bad, as I managed to pick up a pile of less expensive games to fill up some gaping holes in my connection.
High Dynamic Range Lying hit its one year anniversary a month ago at the end of August, but because of a number of logistical issues, we were unable to celebrate it appropriately. To celebrate this fantastic occasion, we’ve opened the HDRL store (care of Cafepress.com), where fans and haters alike can buy all kinds of swag branded with the new HDRL logo!
For now, the store only has a Ringer T and a Women’s T-Shirt available, but we will continually add new styles, other products, and new art for mass consumption! Buy an HDRL shirt, and confuse and confound your friends with a logo that says about as much about the site as a BLT sandwich!
Continue reading ‘HDRL is one year old! Plus, swag for everyone!’
This weekend was the first time in almost 3 months I have had the chance to hit Den Den Town in Osaka. Considered the Akihabara of Kansai, Den Den Town is the best place to go to find a variety of rare games and consoles, collector’s edition goods, soundtrack, and even anime and gaming related figures.
In celebration of the release of Square Enix’s release of It’s a Wonderful World, we decided to show off some of the swag currently available out there. It’s a Wonderful World is a new IP for Square Enix, and the company wants the title to succeed. To facilitate that, they’ve been offering multitudes of knick knacks to keep the game in the public conscience.
After much deliberation, and more alcohol, HDRL and Namako Team have decided to create a joint forum for fans of both sites to chat about games, gaming culture, the oddities of the geek world, and anything else on the minds of our readers.
Check out the new forum, and post your thoughts! We`ll be watching…
Despite not being particularly fond of Final Fantasy XII, I always liked the character design, especially that of the judges. This afternoon in Den Den Town, I managed to pick up the new Judge Gabranth figure. Unlike the other figures in the collection (which include Balthier, Vaan and Ashe), Judge Gabranth’s joints aren’t exposed, instead hidden under different pieces of armor. Because of Judge Gabranth’s armor design, no skin is visible either. These two facts help to make Gabranth the best figure in the collection, while the others end up being woefully underwhelming.
Not surprisingly, Gabranth is the only figure sold out in almost every store that sells the collection, including Yodobashi Camera in Umeda (梅田).
Continue reading ‘Toy Watch: Final Fantasy XII Play Arts Figure - Judge Gabranth’
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