I’m back! Where was I, you ask? Well, I neglected to mention that I was actually away on a month long vacation to the motherland! I’m back with a vengeance and horrible jetlag, but I have plenty of things I’m psyched to post about, so you should be hearing from me much more often from now on. In fact, I’ve got 3 posts going as I type, all of which should be going up in the next few days.
Regarding my trip: it was a blast! I got to see all my family and revisit some of my favorite old haunts. The whole trip can basically be summed up by the following two photos:
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| Sugar cookies in the shape of my home state! And cows… because as the old saying goes, there are probably more cows than people in Vermont |
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| Oysters in Florida! Yum yum |
Yeah, so basically Shaun and I ate our way down the East Cost. But! We also purchased many a game, which is what this is really about. I organized all the games that made the trek back to our apartment in Australia and took some photos for your viewing convenience! Here’s the first batch:
Actually, looking these over, it appears I’ve missed Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2, which I’m actually working on a review of now. I also received ICO/Shadow of the Colossus Collection for review and I have to say I am extremely excited about that! I’ll probably whip it out of its plastic either tonight or tomorrow since I’d like to get that review finished by the end of the week.
I’m sure you can make out most of the games pictured, but in case it’s unclear, the disc in the white sleeve in the third picture is actually Threads of Fate, which is one I’ve been wanting to play for quite some time. Don’t mention the fact that it’s available for only $6 on the PSN and that I still have $30 of credit, I won’t hear any of it!
Um Jammer Lammy technically isn’t new, as I purchased that one just before I moved to Australia last year. Somehow it got lost in the madness and didn’t make its way over with me back in June, though, so I’m happy to finally have it here so I can give it a go! I’m a very big fan of Parappa the Rapper, hence the necessity of playing Lammy as well.
I could go on forever about these games, but I’ve still got more to go, so I’ll keep it short (but sweet): 999 is another title I’ve been looking forward to playing for a long time, so I’m super stoked that Shaun spotted it, and Atelier Annie for the DS should be fun considering my newfound love of Atelier games. Also, it’s got my name in the title! Oh, and I definitely won’t be playing Dissidia 012. That one’s for Shaun (he’s not even done with Dissidia yet but I couldn’t pass it up).
Glory of Heracles was purchased new from Amazon for a whopping $4 (I’m sure can imagine the smug smile on my face right now) after one of my very favorite game writers, Brad Gallaway, wrote a few positive comments about it on Twitter. It was actually Brad that gave me the push I needed to finally buy a Monster Hunter title, as well! Peer pressure…
Grand Knights History and Puyo Puyo!! 20th Anniversary are both Japanese releases that my mom so graciously picked up for me when she was over in Kyoto on business. The day that Grand Knights History finally made its way into my grubby little hands was also the same day XSeed announced that they would be localizing it… Well, I am certainly elated that they will be localizing it, just not that I picked up a copy of the Japanese version (I’m lazy and would probably have just played it in English, given the chance).
Finally, here are two games I know absolutely nothing about. They were both under $7, how could I resist? And that purple ghost with the top hat in the corner of Gurumin is just too cute. Did I mention that I’m totally jealous of the extent of PSP games available in US stores? I could walk in a store and actually find some PSP games, whereas half the time here in Australia they don’t even carry any! I do regret not picking up a copy of Persona, but I had to reel it in at some point.
So, thoughts? I realize this haul is seriously skewed towards handhelds, but that’s partially because Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny got pushed back, making me unable to through my money at Natsume for that one. Speaking of which, Gabrielle’s Ghostly Groove for the 3DS was released the day before we left, but I went to a Game Stop and they said they wouldn’t get it in until this week. Unfortunate, because now I’ll have to import that one.
Let me know if there are any titles in particular you’d like me to tackle first and share my thoughts on!
I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. Vacationing is always fun and as a suggestion, try 999 first. It should prove fun. And I hope you have as much fun with your new toys as I am with Solatorobo!
Wow, you weren’t kidding when you said it was a haul! Yowza!!
I can’t wait to hear what you think of Atelier Annie, Grand Knights History, Gurumin and 999, especially.
I’ve actually had my eye on Gurumin for some time. The graphics certainly look nice, although I don’t exactly understand how it plays.
999 has gotten *great* reviews, so hopefully you’ll like it, too — and then prompt me to pick up a copy of it 🙂
I’m a bad sad to say that I own a copy of Lammy but have yet to play it! Especially sad when you consider I loved Parappa. Oh, well.
Anyway, glad to have you back again! Looking forward to reading your next posts 🙂
Thanks for the comment, Motherplayer!
Both you and Bryan casted votes towards 999, so I guess that’ll be the one I start with as soon as I’m done with my current review pile! I’m definitely looking forward to it.
Glad to hear you’re enjoying Solatorobo! That’s one I really wanted to pick up as well, but as I mentioned in my post, at some point you just gotta pull the reins in… Maybe that’ll go on the Christmas list 😉
Bryan- I know, right? I guess I went kind of crazy, but a few of the games I brought back had been sitting at home to save on overseas shipping costs, so it’s not like I bought all of them in just one month…
All good choices, thanks for your suggestions! I’ll probably bump 999 to the top of the “must play” list for now. I expect you’ll be getting Grand Knights History when it comes out in the US? I’m still not quite sure how that one works so I’m interested in checking it out, but I was a bit surprised to see that the Amazon.jp reviews only give it 3 out 5 stars! Seems a bit low to me.
I think I’ll surprise myself and not do any reading about Gurumin so that I can just play it without any expectations. I’ll post my impressions when I do!
And thanks! I’ve already got a short post about Skyward Sword ready to go tomorrow morning 🙂
Great post! LMK what you think of Grand Knights History… Very curious about that one.
As for 999… hate to say it, but it was so boring, it caused me psychological trauma. the pacing is just absolutely glacial. Great idea, but a whiff for me.
Nice pick w/ Gurumin… I loved that little game. So cute and fun.
Thanks, Brad! Will let you know my thoughts on Grand Knights History when I get a chance to play it!
That’s funny that you didn’t enjoy 999! Have you ever played any visual novel-style games before? Was it the amount of textual story that ultimately made you bored out of your mind, or something else? I’m curious!
Glad you enjoyed Gurumin, it’s good to hear I didn’t waste my $7 😉
Hey cool blog glad I found it, since most of these finds happen by chance =P The baked goods, the games. Love it.
Hi Michael! Thanks so much for your comment! I’m glad you enjoyed what you saw 🙂
This is months after the fact, but in case you haven’t played it yet, Gurumin is an absolute treat! While too many JRPG’s feature moe girls and cheesy love stories, Gurumin actually feels a lot like NES era games with cute characters and a fun sense of exploration with some hammy voice acting. Plus it’s a Falcom game which usually develop amazing games.
Hey Mark!
You know, I haven’t gotten around to Gurumin yet! It’s not as if I’ve forgotten about it, but as always my huge backlog has overwhelmed me… That and just about a week ago my PSP went kaput! I’ve gotta order a new battery for it… And what a bummer, too, because all the games I want to play these days are on the PSP!
Thanks for giving me a little insight on the game, though – it sounds right up my alley! That doesn’t usually happen when I buy things based on their cover and price, haha.
Thanks for commenting! 🙂