CIBsunday is a hashtag used on Twitter for "complete in box" - every Sunday, video game fans from around the world post pictures of a game that include the box art, manual and the game it's self. I've been joining in for quite a while now, and have decided to share these on my blog as well. Plus, it's a great excuse to show what games I recently bought from my trip to Japan.
This weeks game is Rockman Dash Hagane no Bokenshin (known as Mega Man Legends), which had a PSP release only in Japan.
I've always been a huge fan of the child like character designs for Rock Man Dash. Easily my favourite from the Mega Man franchise. What do you think?
Attack of the Servbots!
Quite possibly my favourite UMD art. Gotta love those monkeys!
Do you like the idea of me posting CIB's on my blog? If so, then I hope it's something that you'll check out every Sunday from now on!
Also known as Genei Ibun Roku #FE, is an upcoming JRPG i'm dying to play. I've had a lot of interest in this title since it was announced, but it's the gameplay which we've only recently found out more about, and how it combines elements from the Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei series that has me wishing a chance to play this game wasn't so far away. It's thanks to the wonderful Nintendo Treehouse streams at E3 (gameplay and discussions with developers from games that are featured in Nintendo's E3 event) that I finally have my answer, and it's so much more then what I was expecting.
I'm a fan of both SMT's dungeon crawler/turn based gameplay and the tactical role playing elements found in the FE series, but if I had to choose one it would be SMT. Preferring that, I was more then pleased to see what SMTxFE has to offer. Everything from the style of battle to dungeon exploring, it's what I enjoy most when playing a JRPG game. Aside from the gameplay elements that have been brought in from the two long running series of games, there's also a large selection of new elements - which I recommend you see for yourself in the stream i've posted above. They are truly a treat, one I love to see in a genre that is always growing with new ideas.
Roaming around Tokyo has me so excited to see every last inch of what the game has to offer. Especially seeing as it's not a made up Tokyo, but in fact based off the real deal - an element i'll appreciated a lot more after my trip to Japan this October. Another part about this game that I like is music. It won't be everyones cup of tea (it'll turn a lot of people away), but this Vocaloid fan is all for a strong idol inclusion into SMTxFE.
It's going to be a painful wait for SMTxFE to be released. I believe no mention of a EU release date has appeared, but i'd like to think that's just a matter of time. We don't have the best luck when it comes to Atlus games being released, so fingers crossed this will be an exception. Until then, i'll be excited to hear more of what this game will have to offer over the coming months.
It's not long now until Yoshi's Woolly World will be released and we can all admire it's adorable, cosy fabric presentation in our own homes. While we count down the next two weeks before it's release, Nintendo of Japan have posted a lovely trailer which showcases some adorable features that weren't very clear until now.
The video briefly covers hidden sections of a stage, that open up paths to fabric pieces which can be used to change Yoshi's colour to pretty much anything your imagination can think off (yes, there is a cow pattern). We are also shown some of the new transformation ability's Yoshi will have. Bike, Jet Plane, Giant Yoshi, Mermaid and Umbrella. All of them look like a blast, and i wouldn't be surprised if there will be many more powers ups hidden away for us to enjoy.
Finishing off, we get another look at the super adorable Woolly Yoshi amiibo's. Using one will make another Yoshi appear during gameplay to help if you need to throw around some yarn. There's also a quick look at the different yarn patterns Yoshi will have if you use amiibo's of different characters. My favourite one, which is not shown in the trailer is the pattern of Ness, from Earthbound.
I honestly can't keep in my excitement for this game any longer. You can count on me to talk about it more once i've spent a couple of hours with this yarn masterpiece. Do you plan on playing Yoshi's Woolly World? Let me know if you're excited to explore this fabric world, or if you just want to own those adorable Yoshi amiibo's.
Gintama is a pretty crazy series, known for it's obscure jokes focused around Japanese TV shows and old video games. Never did i expect Shigesato Itoi, the creator of the Mother trilogy to be used as a starting joke for this weeks episode.
I'm so glad i didn't know about the references before i watched this episode. Was totally taken off guard and couldn't stop myself from laughing. That wasn't the only reference - oh no, it's about to get a lot more obscure.
This scene has been taken from an advert for the first game in the trilogy, Mother. I had to do some research after watching the episode to find where this scene was originally from. Currently shocked that i've only come across this trailer now, and it's thanks to Gintama that i'm doing so.
The scene that Gintama used is at the end of the trailer, with the same tagline "Don't cry until the ending". I can't praise the originally mangaka enough for using such a totally obscure trailer as the main joke for this episode/chapter. Obviously the episode couldn't have ended without the cast doing their own versions of the scene.
274 episodes in, Gintama keeps on delivering. You can never expect what the series is going to do next, but i welcome any more Itoi and Mother related content as i'm sure it'll end up showing me something i didn't already know. Let me know what you think of this obscure reference in the comments below.
Squid puns, miiverse meme and too much ink to handle, Splatoon is the game that keeps on delivering. We knew it would be popular, but i didn't think this squid adventure would make such a large impact on the gaming world.
Multiplayer mode has turned out to be highly addictive. Being thrown into a 4 vs 4 match with randoms isn't really what i enjoy doing, yet Splatoon has me coming back for more after every round. Levelling up and building up coins is a bonus, but the simple yet addictive gameplay would be the main reason. I also find myself generally enjoying a shooting game - a genre that has been really hit and miss to me over the years. I'd say it's the multiplayer side of the genre that has always pushed me away, so enjoying a game that is exactly that is yet another surprise that has me none stop smiling.
Online matches aren't the only reason to play Splatoon - Single player mode can be just as fun. It's a great way to build up your squid skills, as you tackle a decent number of missions. They can be played at any pace, with satisfying results such as more weapons to be used in online matches. Boss fights do a good job of reminding you this is a Nintendo game, feeling like they've been taken from a Mario Galaxy game - they're super fun! You can also replay the missions if you're lucky enough to own any of the three amiibo's that were released at launch. Resulting in more coins and attire that can only be obtained in this mode. It's great to have a lot of single player content for a game that's main purpose is to play online against people around the world. It's a relaxing way to shoot ink at your own leisure and still have fun doing so.
Miiverse is where the surprise factor can be found in Splatoon - you name it and it's already been created. Spoongebob, Jojo's Bizzare Adventure, various squid characters from Nintendo's Mario and Pokemon games and so much more. Fans aren't holding back and i love it. The one i've posted features Super Mario Sunshine and an ink boy, a collaboration i'm sure we would all love to see. If you want to see what else Splatoon's miiverse has to offer, i posted a few more screenshots on twitter. There's even a Cheeky Nando's reference, which really caught me off guard!
Are you enjoying Splatoon? Is it a game that's surprised you? Let me know in the comments below, and if you ever want to play Splatoon together - my Wii U NNID is 'shirobot'. Let me know if you're ever up for a game. See you in the squid world!
I've been toying with the idea of starting my own blog for sometime now, yet never taken the leap into the blogging world. About time I give it a shot, so here goes! I tend to enjoy talking about video games (mainly on twitter) with friends and writing in general, so i'd like to see how much fun i could have here and hopefully stick with it. Here you'll find me covering mainly video game related news and opinions. Toying with the idea of a few tea and coffee related posts, seeing as though they're in the title for my blog. Maybe coffee shop reviews? That could always be fun, so look out for those in the future.
Not sure yet how often i'll be posting, hopefully do a couple a week just so i can make you lovely people interested in what i have to say. Look forward to what i have to say after this post.
(I must thank my good friend themistern for designing that awesome header for the blog. It does a good job of getting the message across about what i want this blog to be about. Cheers buddy!)
