Where have I been?

Not where I wanted to be, for certain.

With a lot of things going on in my life at the moment, the little time I have left is hardly spent doing other smaller things like updating this blog. My purchases have not been as intense as before. I basically stopped buying retro games and press kits. Hopefully, better days will come in the future and I will be able to get what I'm missing now.

One of my latest purchases came from NISA Europe. Being very short on money basically means I have to make some harsh decisions and I usually end up buying the things I want the most, either because of their rarity or simply because I really like and wish to play them. That's precisely what happened with RPG Maker FES Limited Edition.

Now, I know that the best RPG maker games still come from PC and they're mostly for free, but having this little tool for the 3DS is something unique that I like the most. As such, I immediately had to buy this game when preorders became available and that's exactly what I did. I usually do not open these editions unless I truly want to play them, but I couldn't leave this one sealed.

 I've spent a lot of time making a game already that is far from completion, but I now realize what people look for in these types of games are simple things. And that's exactly what I'm doing. I don't know when it will be finished, but one day it will.

Read More »

And another!

And here's another one from NISA Europe, this time Stella Glow for the Nintendo 3DS. I love these guys, I love these editions and I hope to somehow get the ones I've missed in the future!

Read More »

That epic moment when...

... an epic japanese game gets an epic edition in Europe. I totally missed the first game because I didn't want to spend so much money on its edition. I ended up buying it from scalpers in the end. I thought the same thing could happen with this second game but it seems that I'll probably find it later when the price drops, considering the stupid amount of copies this received...

Read More »

Time flies...

Several years ago, when I originally started to become a fan of Japanese games, anime and all that stuff that produces weebos all over the world, I had all sorts of reasons to complain about the treatment Europe and specially this country received with most releases. Europe was and still is a complicated place for international companies to deal with. Unlike the US, Europe is divided in many different countries that greatly vary in sizes, cultures, languages, rules and markets. This obviously makes it harder to localize media in general. To make things worse, some of those countries don't really accept foreign languages very well in their products and almost require them to be translated. As a result, the hassle of localizing videogames in so many languages was a big enough problem that pushed them away from being released here. At that time, even some of the most popular and successful titles from big companies never saw a PAL release in their original format. Other titles that eventually made it here would arrive several months (sometimes years...) later. I believe I have been complaining about these things since I was about 13 or 14 years old.

Nowadays, things are completely different. So different that it's hard to think they were so bad in the past. In just a few years, the videogaming market in Europe suffered some drastic changes. At the moment there is an insane number of  Japanese titles being released for several platforms to the point that it's almost impossible to keep up with them all. The number of limited editions for both western and Japanese games is also insanely high, with certain countries receiving their own exclusive PAL versions. Even small, independent companies are opening stores and releasing limited editions and other exclusive Japanese stuff in their PAL format.

Senran Kagura Burst 2 Shinobi Edition is one of the greatest examples of Europe's current status when it comes to limited editions and exclusive items. 15 years ago, it was absolutely unthinkable to see such an "odd" title being released in PAL format, let alone a limited edition of this caliber. It's quite amazing and it makes me happy to see that the gap between Europe and Japan/US is much, much shorter.

I really don't have anything against NTSC versions. I prefer PAL versons simply because I grew up with them and became attached to them. I didn't have access to NTSC exclusive titles and my tiny childhood collection was made of PAL games only. At a certain point, when buying things online started to become a trend and I finally had access to an enormous amount of items that were previously near impossible to get, I would still be focused on just getting PAL stuff. My monetary limitations wouldn't allow me to collect everything from every region as you can imagine, so focusing on PAL games was a way to narrow down my already extensive whishlists. Sadly, this basically meant that I was leaving many masterpieces out of my collection. I just couldn't buy everything from every region as you can imagine. 

As my collection started to grow over the years, I slowly started to buy a few NTSC exclusive titles and there are still many others I expect to buy in the future. However, with so much stuff being released in Europe like I never imagined before, I have some very strong, brand new reasons to continue to focus my attention on PAL releases. 

Read More »

Let me hate on Nintendo a little more.

No, I'm not collecting faceplates and I hate Nintendo for doing this. I've been hating Nintendo a lot lately. They are more concerned about making money in microtransactions with Pokemon Shuffle and Pokémon Rumble, selling 3DS wallpapers for 2 euros, making useless but addicting cool figurines called Amiibo and releasing a ton of faceplates. Now they announced a ton of new Amiibos and they will keep doing the same sh!t again of releasing them in very low quantities. The nightmare for Amiibo collectors will resume shortly. Thanks for being an ass, Nintendo. 

But I'm definitely not collecting these faceplates. Overall, they're annoyingly expensive, tagged at 14.99 euros each, not counting that wooden-like cover that goes for... 24.99 for no particular reason. Not to mention scubag stores that sell these for a higher price, such as Fnac. And I truly hate that store for charging more cash than things are worth and for being the only place where you can actually preorder these over here. The rest of the stores seem to be absolutely clueless about these things until they finally arrive, if they ever arrive.

I only buy a couple that I like the most, such as the Pokemon ORAS, Xenoblade, the two Zelda ones and that's all for the moment. Most of them are ugly as well and almost none goes well with the white New 3DS console, which is exactly the one I have because it's the only colour available for the Ambassador Edition. I wanted a black one and life sucks because I don't have a black one. It's already stupid enough to own a New 3DS because that thing is basically the same sh!t as before with a few extras nobody cares about. And the only game available is Xenoblade, which happens to be one of my favourite games ever created... And I still didn't buy it because the only store where I found it for sale is Fnac, which is asking 5 euros more than in most other places, as usual...

Read More »

No comments...

I was one of the first persons to complain about this new model when it was announced, and now I have both the regular console and the Limited Edition Majora's Mask XL model (that one will be posted later). I'm such a weirdo, I know. All I'm missing now is the Spirit Tracks model of the DS lite console in order to have all the Zelda-related models released in Europe (or so I think...). This is bothering me a bit, but the truth is that model is out of my price range and it's particularly rare. It's not something I can buy just like that, unfortunately. And since I'm complaining about Nintendo models I'd like to get, I'd love to find the Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Limited Edition Paks too...

This move from Nintendo was unnecessary to be honest. They could wait to release a brand new, better console instead of adding just a couple of improvements that don't really affect the gaming experience. At least that's what I think, but then I'm stupid enough to actually support their decisions by buying two of these models as soon as they become available. What's pictured here is the Ambassador Edition, the model that's only available to a few selected Nintendo Ambassadors. Just in case you're clueless about what these Nintendo Ambassadors are, they're the people that bought a 3DS console in the early dates before the major price drop. In order to compensate those who paid a lot more cash for the console before the price drop, Nintendo created the Ambassador program, giving some bonuses such as free games and exclusive news. In order to enter the Ambassador program, all you had to do was access the internet with a 3DS model during a certain date before the price drop. The original compensation consisted of 20 Virtual Console games from NES and GBA I believe. It's been years since that happened and I thought that the Ambassador program was now useless, but I guess it was not. A few randomly selected ambassadors were  given the early chance to buy this exclusive New 3DS Ambassador Edition a few weeks before the official release date. I was not one those persons though, but someone gave me his chance to get this and I took it.

Read More »

Instantly worth it just because it's Zelda

Yeah, Majora's Mask for the 3DS arrived and so did this little Special Edition that I obviously had to get. It reminds me of the moment when I originally bought the Limited Edition Adventure Set for the N64, the first huge purchase that made it to my collection back in 2005 or 2006 I believe. It's been around 10 years!

Read More »

Please sign and share this petition to stop Ditto's sexual exploitation!

Ah... the memories... This brings me back in time...

Just kidding. I've only actually played Ruby Version for 4 hours or so. I bought the game but I found out that after spending so many hours playing the previous titles I finally got badly tired of Pokémon. I never touched another Pokémon game until Y came out. A break that lasted over 10 years.

I still had to preorder these two editions, which are kinda lame. They only come with steelbooks and I don't like steelbooks. Oh! I'm pretty sure I didn't mention this 100 times in this blog!

Unfortunately, they rust in countries with usually high humidity levels in the atmosphere and coastal areas, unless they are sealed. "Derrp we live in a hot, sunny country and we don't need thermal isolation and all that crap, so we can save money on materials and still ask a hundred thousand euros for shitty apartments". And nobody lives in the capital because houses  are old, very expensive or both. Not to mention we have some visitors from countries with much lower temperatures and snow that complain this country is cold during winter. No sh!t Sherlock!

Read More »

I was brave enough to pay more than the default price for this...

Bravely Default Collector's Edition...
*Didn't preorder because I thought it wasn't worth 100 euros.*
*Still think it's not over 100 euros but had to pay more.*
Looking at this description, I'm not sure if it classifies me as a serious collector or simply a dumb person...

Not cool... The game's awesome though.

Read More »

Zelda is not the green guy

You know that moment when you finally lose your head to buy something you've been wanting for a while but was kinda expensive and you'd prefer to save the money for other things? That summarizes what happened last week:

Even though I already had a white Wii U, what I truly wanted was the Limited Edition Zelda version. A local supermarket dropped its current price by 33% and I though it was now or never. What actually boosted my will to get this version of the console was the newer trailers for the next Xeno game, which seems to be called Xenogears Origins if the leaked E3 list is really true - which looks like total BS since E3 is no longer the place where new games are announced, they just show new footage and details about games we already knew would come out.

And since we're talking about Zelda, I might as well add the picture of the 3DS XL model of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (with the crappy DLC Code instead of the physical game... what the hell, Nintendo?) I've bought several moons ago but never posted before.

Read More »

These things should have never been released

Got this Skylanders set for a very cheap price. It doesn't matter how cool and innovative these games are. Truth is they are a pain to collect. They're like toys' versions of DLCs. It was a genius move by Activision and I feel sorry for those that wasted so much cash trying to get the exclusive figurines. And there are wayyyy too many to collect. Way too many!

Read More »

And the second reason why I still haven't updated the blog...

... yup, it's Pokémon. With almost 400 hours of game and a complete pokédex, I seriously wasn't expecting to spend such a long time with this game. The last game I played before this was Ruby. I've just made a huge comeback. Pictured bellow are Pokémon X (sealed), Pokémon Y (currently playing) and the preorder bonus Pokkeball cart case, still in the official plastic bag. One of the coolest preorder items yet :). I didn't change the background on this one because it's troublesome to deal with the pokéball's plastic bag.

Read More »

Another Piece.

And one less edition to worry about: the Special Edition box set for One Piece Unlimited Cruise. This game was split in two, unlike the Japanese versions, and they are basically ports of the Wii versions. It's a shame they split this game in two parts. I'm still missing a particular edition of One Piece, but right now this is one less to worry about :)

Read More »

Resident Evil games will never be the same...

... or so I though after I played the 4th and 5th titles. I mean... the 4th game is great, and the 5th game is also very good, but they can hardly be called survival horror games... I miss the old T-virus and all those dumb zombies lurking around town... Resident Evil Revelations was finally released on Nintendo 3DS and I really needed to play that game. I loved it I must say. I loved it much more than the last few games (not counting the spin-offs). This really takes the game a little back to its roots, but this time it offers some very ugly and stupid monsters that have almost anything to do with zombies... They call it the T-abyss virus... PU-LEASE just call it whatever you want but if there ain't no zombies don't call it T! Really!

Anyway, I still enjoyed the game quite a bit and went straight to the end in just a few days. Also played some of the extra missions and they are very enjoyable, with level ups and weapons to purchase and upgrade. As you can tell already, I got the Circle Pad Pro bundle. It really improves the gameplay by quite a bit. I can't play this game without it and I believe that, looking at how good the gameplay for this game is with the extra analogue stick, it will be very useful to other games in the future. At first I though it would be a stupid thing for Nintendo to release such an add-on, but now I take that back! My only concern though is that sooner or later new versions of the console will be released and the analogue stick ill be integrated in the console itself. This is 99,99% guaranteed and by that time I will want to spend on that new model. And that sucks...

If you have a Nintendo 3DS and still didn't get this game, please do yourself a favour and get it now - it's not just one of the best games in the console with impressive 3D effects but also one of the best Resident Evil games I played in a long time.

Read More »

Zelda again for the life of me

Yep, the other side of the world received yet another exclusive edition for their exclusive pleasure, leaving the rest of the PAL territories forever alone. This time it was a Zelda game, more precisely the Ocarina of Time 3D for the 3DS. Those guys received the Ocarina Edition, which comes in a larger card box with enough space to include more stuff than it actually includes because it only comes with the Collector's Edition game and an Ocarina Replica. It's funny that this Collector's Edition game is actually just the preorder box we received in Europe, but in Europe you couldn't have a sealed copy with the game inside unless you bought the Limited Edition 3DS console with the game (which I gladly did!).

This boxset came from the UK, and I have to thank my friend Mosavon at Collectorsedition.org for forwarding the item for me and doing an amazing job with the package. All this because a certain seller clearly stated in his auction that he refused to ship outside the UK. I didn't bother asking permission or a reason for that, because I already know what the answer is like: "err I'm afraid to post to other countries because I don't know how to do it, how much it costs, the game will get lost or arrive badly damaged and I live in the 21st century where international trading is part of my daily life when I buy stuff from the supermarket". And I must say the original seller did a bad job packing the edition. No wander these sellers are afraid to send items overseas because they'll get damaged... If the same thing happens with they send stuff internally. Oh well, at least I got the game.

Thanks a lot Mosavon!

Read More »

Happy Birthday Zelda =)

25 years after the amazing legend was born, we received a special edition 3DS Console to celebrate. I'm not the sort to collect limited edition consoles, but there are too many Zelda nut fans and I decided I should buy this thing before those nut fans go nuts again and prevent me from getting a goodf deal for this console in the future. Better now than ever.

And it's not just the console alone, there's also a special edition of the game with a wiimote bundle. For the price being asked and knowing this is a Zelda game I'd be stupid if I let it go. I have been playing the game and it's pretty good in fact. However, I can't get used to the controllers so for this particular reason the game is not as enjoyable as it could be. Graphically speaking it's good but not THAT good, after all we've been recently spoiled by a game called Xenoblade and its amazing scenarios. The character design in Zelda is quite better though, at least in closer view. Overall, if I was a reviewer I wouldn't give this game the uber scores it's been getting but I'd still put it on my Wii all time favourites chart. I'm halfway through the game already and I'm enjoying it! This game, Xenoblade and hopefully the upcoming titles in Europe (Pandora's Tower and Last Story) will certainly be the best moments on the Wii for me =).

Read More »