Phew! It’s already the start of a new week here in Australia, but I’m going to squeeze a Catch-Up Corner in before the clock strikes twelve in the last area of the world where it’s still Sunday.
Since this past week was all about the big E3 conference in the gaming world, I couldn’t help but tune in to some of the news and streams. For the most part, E3 doesn’t really feel like an event that caters to someone like me, but I was really impressed at how Nintendo came out guns blazing to announce a bunch of interesting titles and produce the most fun “conference” of the big three. I’m sure everyone has had their fill of E3 news and recaps (I know I have), so here’s a few quick favorites of mine from the show:
Splatoon (Wii U) – First of all, what a charming idea! Splatoon is a third-person “shooter” that pits cute little squid children against each other in paint splattering fights, and I couldn’t be more charmed by a game. I just love the premise of hurling paint to “claim” territory, and the fact that the characters can transform into actual squids to quickly traverse the area is such a neat mechanic. I wouldn’t go so far as to say this would sell me on a Wii U, but I’d definitely pick it up if I had one.
Fantasy Life (3DS) – Long have I awaited the day that Level 5 would announce a localization of Fantasy Life, their Animal Crossing-esque life sim/RPG for the 3DS. I could very well have purchased the Japanese version, but it’s always great to see interesting titles like this get an English release. The game will be out on October 24th, and I definitely plan on grabbing a copy.
Final Fantasy Type-0 HD (PS4 & Xbox One) – I have rather mixed feelings about this news, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t one of the more exciting announcements to come out of E3. Fans have been clamoring for an English version of Final Fantasy Type-0 (PSP) for ages, but I had pretty much given up hope and even have a copy of the Japanese version sitting on my shelf from my last trip to Japan. An HD release sounds like the perfect way to bring it to an English-speaking audience while still keeping the game on relevant platforms, but I just don’t understand why there isn’t a Vita version like Square Enix did for Final Fantasy X|X-2 HD! I’m most definitely not buying a PS4 or Xbox One anytime soon, so I think I’ll just have to stick with the Japanese PSP version. It’s great news for those with the hardware, though!
On the video front, I’ve posted an unboxing of a new Japanese snack subscription service, aptly named Japanese Treats! This is their first month, and I have to say, I’m really impressed with the initial selection of goodies. Please do check out the unboxing video to see what I got, and you can expect a full review of their service this week!
… And now I enter crunch time, as I’ve got a seminar to do on Friday! After that it will be relatively smooth sailing until I head to Japan on July 12th!
Splatoon started off as “kind of cute but not my thing” during the original trailer, but it’s grown on me so much that i have become unreasonably excited to actually play it with my friends. I’m more interested the more i think about it (swimming in the ink is such a fun idea), but all that fan art really pushed me over the edge. I think part of the reason i’m looking forward to playing it is that so many other people are, and i really didn’t expect people to be so into it! I think it’s my favorite game of E3 now.
I’m also really looking forward to playing Fantasy Life! I’ve been hoping for that one forEVER, more than the DQVII 3DS release!
I’m REEEEALLY hoping that the false Vita announcement for Type-0 HD was only because they weren’t quite ready to announce it. Not only is it a game meant for portable play, but i’d rather play *every* jrpg on a portable.
That ABZÛ game on PS4 looked really cool, but i think it’s going to be a while, FINE since i won’t have a PS4 for a while if ever anyway (there are way too many games to play as it is)
Good luck on your seminar!
also, my friend saw me playing rainblocks and now he’s into it too and we’re competing for high scores. Thanks for recommending it on your site! The colorful aesthetic with soothing music and sounds really reminds me of the GBA bit Generations game Coloris (it doesn’t really play the same though)
Hi finchiekins! First of all, congrats on winning The Gay Gamer’s giveaway! Momopie looks super cute.
I totally agree with you that the Splatoon fanart has really helped sell it! I don’t know that I actually like the in-game models that much, but I am seriously digging all the awesome fanart, which I think attests to how fun the actual designs are. It looks like it would be super fun with friends, too!
Don’t mention a DQVII release, though, that’s just too sad haha
And yeah, I forgot to mention that the original announcement DID say there was a PS Vita release, and I just can’t even fathom how they could screw that up if it wasn’t at least a consideration, haha. So I’d definitely like to hear that’s a reality later down the road!
ABZÛ also looked really gorgeous. I absolutely loved Journey, so I’m sure this will be right up my alley. The only reason I didn’t mention it here was actually because I generally try to stick to Japanese stuff, haha. But I guess I shouldn’t worry about stuff like that too much!
I’m glad you and your friend are enjoying rainblocks! I had a lot of fun with it XD I’ll have to check out Coloris… I’ve never heard of it!
And finally, thanks for the well wishes for my seminar ^^