Kirby25: Kirby’s Dream Land (GB, 1992)

By Graham Russell // 1.5.171.25.17

Welcome to Kirby25! To celebrate the Kirby franchise’s 25th anniversary, we’re playing all the games in the series in weekly video features. It feels like 2017 could use some happy, relaxing fun, and we hope these episodes will be a welcome respite from the stress of life.

This week, Lucas White (@HokutoNoRucas) joins in as we play through the very first game: Kirby’s Dream Land for the original Game Boy. The game’s a fascinating case study in just how much of the eventual formula was in place in the first title and how much wasn’t.

GB Video

Video: Before Advance Wars, there was Game Boy Wars 3

By Graham Russell // 12.1.161.3.17

The Wars series had a long and storied history before we ever saw it in the West, and the shiniest gem of that era is this: the Game Boy Color release, Game Boy Wars 3. It’s different from later games in so many ways, and is thankfully the recipient of a translation patch! Watch us check it out, will ya?

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Video: Pokémon TCG GB 2 is an import to catch

By Graham Russell // 11.17.1612.9.16

With a franchise as big as Pokémon, there aren’t many releases that don’t make it worldwide. Still, a few slip through the cracks! Today, we take a look at what may be the best of these missing titles: Pokémon Trading Card Game GB2 for the Game Boy Color.

3DS GB

Pokémon Yellow is perfect for Nuzlocke runs

By Jenni Lada // 11.16.1611.13.16

The Pokémon games are designed with accessibility in mind. While there are deeper elements to each installment, exploring these intricacies is optional. The basic experience is a rather balanced one that anyone, regardless of age or familiarity with RPGs, can enjoy. As long as you can read, you can play a Pokémon game. Which probably explains the popularity of Nuzlocke runs. By adding self-imposed rules to the experience, you create an additional challenge. And, when it comes to facing a Nuzlocke challenge, Pokémon Yellow might be the perfect game to take on that journey.

Mario’s Picross 2 is all about the ambiance

By Jenni Lada // 11.9.1611.6.16

Picross doesn’t have to do anything flashy to be good. All nonogram games really need is to be functional and have control schemes that work with the player to be successful. This is why most of Jupiter’s Picross games are so great. They deliver plenty of puzzles in what’s almost always a user-friendly environment. But, there’s one Picross game that really stands out, and it’s an installment that never appeared outside of Japan. I’m talking, of course, about Mario’s Picross 2.

3DS Arcade DS GB GBA Guide NES PS3 SNES

A beginner’s guide to the wide world of Kunio-kun

By Graham Russell // 9.26.161.18.17

Want to get into the Kunio-kun series? Great! With a new English release, River City: Tokyo Rumble, releasing this week for 3DS, it’s a great time. But… here’s the thing. It’s really basically four series. Read on and we’ll help you get started!

Pokémon Yellow’s bonds can never be broken

By Jenni Lada // 8.19.1611.21.16

The Pokémon games have done wonders for defining the roles these monsters play in our virtual lives. We’ve seen the characters as protectors, workers, heroes, villains, tools and even unique individuals with defined personalities. But the one role the series constantly attempts to drive home is that of a friend.

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Five Japan-only sequels offer a second helping of fun

By Graham Russell // 6.14.166.13.16

It’s a fairly common game development practice: build on a game’s engine and assets to make a new experience on the same platform with less time and effort. It’s resulted in some all-time great games, like The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and it’s also meant dev teams could deliver more than one title in a generation.

These games aren’t often the ones we miss; once a series starts being localized, it tends to stay that way for a while. But sometimes it happens! Thankfully, these are easy games to import, as you know the controls and systems well from the previous game we did get.

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The troubled history of Famicom Wars

By Graham Russell // 6.8.169.16.16

It’s weird to think of Advance Wars as some sort of series for importers. After all, we’ve seen the last four entries in the West, in some cases several years before they’re released in their original Japanese form. The last title, Days of Ruin, was released in the U.S. and Europe in 2008, after a breakneck localization process that saw completely different English names and conversations in the two regions. Japanese players could buy it… in October 2013. As a digital-only Club Nintendo reward. This is just the latest in the Famicom Wars franchise’s rocky, questionable release history, one sometimes affected by real-life conflict.