Now, we could talk about Apple love/hate six ways till Sunday, but the truth of the matter is between iTunes, iPods, iPads, iPhones, and, well, “i” everything, they’re seriously making a killing. I, too, had an iPhone once… Well, I still do, but it’s either a first or second gen iPhone and Apple has long since dropped compatibility for it – almost all new iPhone apps require iOS 4.3 or higher, and entries on the online app store come with this depressing little disclaimer:

“Requirements: Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation) and iPad.Requires iOS 4.3 or later.” <–– this means I’m out of luck!

I never really felt I needed all of the bells and whistles that come with the iPhone, but one thing always gives me a little pang of regret for not having one of those nifty, sleek devices: all of the apps (game or otherwise) I read about on the internet. Oh, curse you internet, for if you did not exist I would live in a naive bliss where I would not want nearly so many things!

But alas, such is the nature of this hyper-connected world we live in. Luckily, there are so many free apps available, and though I can’t personally play them at this point in time, I can most definitely tell you all about them and why you should go download them immediately.

Flick of the Dead

Remember The Typing of the Dead? Even more ridiculous than the Pokemon typing DS game (well, that came with a bluetooth keyboard for your DS, which is pretty weird…), The Typing of the Dead has you typing as fast as your fingers can to fend of hoards of zombies, and Flick of the Dead, the iOS port, is no different. Why didn’t they name it Text of the Dead is beyond me, though… Regardless, though I feel they probably can’t emulate the satisfaction that comes with typing the words out on an actual keyboard, the app is free and for that alone, I say give it a go.

It’s only available on the Japanese iTunes store, though, so if you’re interested in downloading it use my tutorial and make sure to search for “ゾンビ打FLICK OF THE DEAD” (no quotation marks). It’s also only in Japanese, which means you  might have to flail your way through it, but I personally am of the mind to try everything at least once (especially if it’s free!). As a final incentive, its icon is just too amazing:

Sleepy-Time Boyfriend and Love me, I’m your pet darling

Basically, in this one, you’re that little white bird sitting on the guy’s shoulder. Tapping the screen in various places elicits dialogue from the man…who seems to be pretty, er, enamored with his pet bird. But as I always say, it’s free, so give it a go! This one has English in it too and is available in the US iTunes store, so it should be very easy to download and understand even for those who don’t know any Japanese.

As a final disclaimer, I should mention that all of these do have some paid elements to them. I don’t think there’s any hidden charges, but rather a number of additional voice packs (in the case of the two sound-oriented games) or levels (in the case of Flick of the Dead) that must be purchased to unlock, so don’t be surprised if the game suddenly comes to an abrupt stop and asks you to fork out your hard-earned cash to see more.

Will you give any of these a go? For me? For science? If you do, please share your thoughts in the comments!

Many thanks to Rivi’s Adventures in Otome Gaming for introducing me to Sleepy-Time Boyfriend and Love me, I’m your pet darling! 

All it took was Tree of Tranquility on the Wii, my first real taste of the world of Harvest Moon, and a chance find in the form of a vintage Japanese copy of the Friends of Mineral Town strategy guide to get me completely hooked on the series. Well, I’d say it didn’t take a lot, but given my love of nonviolent video games, cute things, and Animal Crossing, I’d say it was pretty inevitable.

The other day I posted a number of pictures of the aforementioned strategy guide I’m coveting. Now it’s time for the actual game itself! A Twitter friend from Japan was gracious enough to find me a full in-box copy in amazing condition at an extremely reasonable price (under $20).

There’s something really satisfying about having a complete set!

When delving into the Harvest Moon series for the first time, it can be very daunting due to the sheer amount of different titles available. Where does one start? I did some asking around and looked to Harvest Moon forums to see what the general consensus was regarding the best titles in the series… Though you can pretty much every Harvest Moon game is somebody’s favorite, I got the impression that, to many a fan, Friends of Mineral Town remains one of the most definitive, which was definitely a factor in my decision to purchase it.

I honestly couldn’t believe how pristine the box was when I received it in the mail… Gotta love the Japanese for taking good care of their things! But then I wondered… Perhaps the person never even played the game? Maybe it’d been sitting in a box for years before they finally decided to get rid of it? So I popped the game cartridge in my DS (I seriously need a GBA of some sort, but that’s another post) and, lo and behold… The two save files in the game indicate that they only spent a mere couple of hours playing it. My theory was correct!

Have I ever mentioned how awesome Japanese GBA boxes are? The most awesome. I love that every side of the box is completely customized to fit whatever game is inside… There’s even some art on the spine! And it comes complete with a manual, too… Can’t help but feel game packaging has really gone downhill these days, albeit more practical. It’s such a shame!

Just a quick update today–I’m currently finding myself swamped with translations I need to finish and my internet has been finicky all day.

I was really depressed when I broke one of my favorite cups while cleaning a while back… It had traveled with me from Japan to America and then all the way here to Australia. That’s 5 years of traveling the world together! I remember I got it as an impulse buy for 300 yen (about $3) because it said “coffee milk crazy” on it and gave really bad English instructions on how to make an iced coffee. I’ve been looking for a replacement cup ever since its untimely demise.

I actually found this cup a couple of weekends ago while Shaun and I were perusing one of our favorite vintage shops. I think we’d even seen it in a previous visit, but hadn’t really given it much notice… I have no idea why! I absolutely LOVE this cup. And it was only $1! The design is so kitschy, honestly. I think Shaun’s jealous of it, though, so we’re going to have to find one equally kitschy for him in the near future. Not gonna argue with that, but I’m telling you, it’ll take a lot to contend with this one:

I wish I could’ve gotten a slightly better shot of the white design. It honestly looks like something you’d see on a Grecain Urn. And the red horse and buggies circling around the top? Ahaha, I love it!

Some feedback on my previous 3DS impressions post has led me to believe that perhaps I came off as a little too harsh… To clarify, though I am still not entirely impressed with the 3DS’s launch lineup, I am very content with the capabilities of the system on the whole, and am excited for numerous games on the horizon such as BlazBlue Continuum Shift II (NA release May 31) and Legend of Zelda: Ocarena of Time in June. I’ve even gotten a little more play out of Nintendogs + Cats, and I have to admit that it is quite cute. It’s always exciting to find, after having the system in my purse on sleep mode all day, that I’ve encountered another 3DS user and exchanged puppy pictures with them. 

Official image illustrating how StreetPass works

Which leads me into the meat of this post, where I’d like to talk a little more about the nifty StreetPass function of the 3DS. While considered a “useless” addition to some, I was intrigued by the idea of the StreetPass from the moment it was announced. Not only can you randomly exchange Mii data with other 3DS owners as you pass them innocuously on the street to fill your Mii Plaza, but you can send and receive game-specific information that allows you to trade items, battle, and more, depending on the game. Of course, the inherent problem with all of this is that you actually have to encounter other people who own a 3DS, have it with them, and have it in sleep mode, for the data exchange to occur. Some have criticized this function as being useful in an extremely densely populated nation as Japan, but not as much so in larger countries such as the US and Australia, where you might be one of a handful of people in your town to even own a 3DS.

With StreetPass Network, that problem has been solved. Gamers from all around the world have started creating their own grassroots StreetPass groups using the page function on Facebook, and they are all cataloged by the man behind the first StreetPass group to gain fame, Joshua Lynsen. Who said gamers weren’t social? If you have a 3DS, or even just a DS, you can go to the network website, find your city, and there’s a good chance a group has been made. If not, why not create your own?

In the Mii Plaza, you can view all the different Mii’s you’ve encountered! (source)

That’s what I did! Introducing StreetPass Brisbane, the first and only StreetPass group for Brisbane, Australia! Excited about meeting and trading data with other 3DS owners, I searched the StreetPass Network’s website for a local group for me… Only to find that the closest one was in the Gold Coast. The kind owner of the Gold Coast StreetPass page suggested I create my own for Brisbane, and the rest is history. Don’t mind that right now I’m the only one who “likes” it…

I contacted Joshua at the StreetPass Network and inquired about getting StreetPass Brisbane listed, and within an hour it was up on the site! His website is really much more informative than I could ever hope to be, so I really encourage you all to go check it out! I’m hoping that through some networking, StreetPass Brisbane will be able to grow and succeed like so many of the other groups around the world already have.

Besides joining a StreetPass group in your area, Gamertell has a nice article to help you get started with StreetPass, and hopefully exchange some data with other 3DS users.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that StreetPass Brisbane will be successful enough to do an actual meetup sometime soon! And I hope this post has helped anyone who is looking for more information on how to get involved with StreetPass. Let me know in the comments!

Hello hello! My severe lack of updates recently can be attributed to my trip last week to Melbourne with my husband… So hopefully I can get back into a more regular pattern soon! I’ll start with a few pictures I took:

 

Melbourne is quite a beautiful city! Because its been around for so long, there are plenty of old buildings (which I love) and a lot of interesting architecture, even in the newer buildings! Just look at that picture of Southern Cross station! It was all quite breathtaking, and while Brisbane is a nice place to live, the architecture doesn’t pack the same punch that Melbourne’s did for me during those few short days. It seemed as though every time I turned into a new street there was a cute house, quaint eatery, or funky storefront to stare at and take pictures of.

While not exactly a vacation, as my husband was down for work, I had plenty of free time during the day, so I explored a lot of the downtown area, visited the biggest mall in the Southern Hemisphere, and saw some art exhibitions. The highlight for me was ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image)’s “Dreams Come True: The Art of Disney’s Classing Fairy Tales” exhibit.

It was really amazing to see character designs and all sorts of art from the production of some of Disney’s most iconic films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and even their newer films, The Princess and the Frog and Tangled. The layout of the exhibit was very dynamic: clips from the films would be interspersed with commentary and various production art, so the whole thing took me 3+ hours to go through at a leisurely pace. Since it cost $16 to enter, I was happy to take my time and get as much as I could out of it. From my understanding, some of the art on display is not often, if ever, shown to the public, so it was a great chance to see all the different types of artistry that goes into creating the Disney fairytale stories. I was particularly enthralled by the Medieval stained glass-inspired art of Sleeping Beauty, which is actually one of the Disney films I never really got into. Each background image was like a work of art by itself! I’m actually inspired to go back and re-watch the film, now.

Shaun and I talk about moving to Melbourne someday, but if that day comes it will probably be a good ways in the future, so we’ll have to make do with Brisbane for now. I wouldn’t mind visiting again sometime, though!

Thanks for reading, and check back soon for my hands-on impressions of the Nintendo 3DS!

Shouldn’t a weekend review come sooner than Thursday? Somehow I managed to put off this post until now, but perhaps in the future I should make more of an effort to post about my weekend at the beginning of the week! Oh well. I hope you all are looking forward to this weekend and the beginning of April!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I attended an event at the University of Queensland held on Friday night called Fantasy and Imagination: Exploring Japanese Creative Writings. The guest speakers included Dr. Carol Hayes of ANU, Edward Lipsett, a translator who co-founded Kurodahan Press, and Roger Pulvers, a man of many talents who recently published The Dream of Lafcadio Hearn with Kurodahan Press.

The man focus of the panel was to discuss whether there is something inherently different about Japanese fantasy when compared to Western fantasy, and to pinpoint what these differences might be, if there indeed are any. I found it to be quite interesting and was especially impressed by Roger’s insight on the subject. He argued that Japanese aesthetics are intended to be felt through the pores, and that while a Western perception of beauty is something that is unattainable by average individuals (he used ornate castle architecture as an example of this), Japanese beauty is felt every day and is inherently the same, from revered Shinto shrines to the humble everyday dwellings. Pretty neat, huh?

Dr. Hayes and Edward both mentioned the lack of action in Japanese fantasy as compared with Western fantasy literature. As a whole, Japanese fantasy is emotionally driven, rather than plot/action driven, which I think, along with the fundamental differences in the Japanese perception of beauty, is the root of what makes Japanese fantasy different from, say, Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings.

After the discussion, we all filed into another room for the reception, where there were complementary drinks and food (I had a glass of white wine and some kind of chicken skewer, both of which were very nice). I was able to meet many interesting people, including all of the speakers except for Edward, unfortunately. I may have even landed another translation gig, but I’m not going to talk about that, lest I jinx it!

On Saturday, I had the opportunity to attend Cardmaking for a Cause, an event my husband’s co-worker (whose house we stayed at when we had to evacuate during the floods, incidentally) invited me to. It was a women-only event where all the cards made during the day would be donated to local hospitals to sell to patients and visitors, all proceeds raised going to the hospitals themselves to use for improved equipment, etc.

Luckily, all of the cards I made came in prearranged “kits,” which meant all I had to do was stick all of the parts together. This actually saved a lot of time, rather than having to conceptualize and cut everything there on the spot. It was quite a nice, intimate event (though I may have been the youngest woman there…), and during the course of 4 hours my table made over 100 cards! And of course we got to help ourselves to biscuits, coffee/tea, and sandwiches, which always is a bonus.

Sorry for the lack of photos today… I meant to take a couple at the cardmaking event but I only ended up getting a couple that are pretty poor quality. As I type, I am busy cooking my Dad’s awesome chicken barley soup, so maybe I’ll share photos of that next time!