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Etrian Odyssey the figurine


As gamers, we often like to surround ourselves with figurines and posters of the games and characters we love. Well, if you love yourself some Etrian Odyssey, then Hobby Wave has you covered. That is, if you don't mind importing it from Japan and waiting until September. The figure will set you back 3,990 Yen (or about $33 USD).

[Via Go Nintendo]

Translate! Ultimate Stars


Jump Ultimate Stars is one of the most popular DS games with importers. Since it's a fighting game, it's not a huge deal to play Jump without knowing Japanese, but there are a lot of missions that may be difficult to figure out. Also, the game actually tries to tell a story, which is rare for a fighting game.

Abel Tamayo wrote in to tell us about a wonderful wiki project he's managing, called, appropriately enough, the Jump Ultimate Stars Translation Project. We've seen amazing fan translation projects from single translators, but never a project done in a collaborative wiki format. It's a great idea, one that will allow tragically busy people to help out. If you know Japanese, why not sign up? Translating a fighting game-- that's another rarity. SNK never bothered to do it.

Looking for closure with Puzzle Quest

For all its charms, Puzzle Quest is not a game that ends well. Once you've completed every mindless fetch mission and julienned the anticlimactic final boss, you're dropped back into the worldmap with hardly any ceremony save some brief epilogue text. The landscape appears just as you left it, unaffected by your victory or valor.

The New Gamer laments in its review, "I keep hoping that, finally, my character will have some complete and utter impact on the lands, that all those I've interacted in will pronounce the lands free of evil, free of conflict and that they can finally live their lives in peace." But your deeds are quickly forgotten by the townspeople you've saved, and there's little to indicate that you've had an impact on the kingdom of Etheria. In short, it never feels like the Challenge of the Warlords has actually been completed.

Though this lack of finality isn't exclusive to Puzzle Quest, we really expected more from an otherwise fantastic game. Hopefully, Infinite Interactive will take pains to address the issue before putting out its next puzzle/RPG hybrid, Galactrix. Until then, we'll be haunting Etheria's dusty roads, matching gems against any soul that stumbles across our path, sighing no matter what the outcome.

The Shields of Zelda

If you paid close attention to yesterday's Phantom Hourglass commercials, you might've spotted the lobster design (or is it a crayfish?) on Link's shield. What do you think of the new look? Wind Waker fans should recognize the crustacean shape, as it originally showed up on our hero's pajamas in the GameCube game.

Link's shield has been as much a staple of the Zelda series as the adventurer's green cap, deflecting octorok attacks and pushing away charging enemies. Over the past two decades, the defensive device's design has evolved much from its original cross emblem to incorporate Triforces, various winged figures, and decorative accents.

We've collected over a dozen of the different layouts that we spotted at The Hylia, leaving out mirror shields and other deviations (e.g. Ordon shield), and have lined them up for you to compare and constrast after the post break. Enjoy!

Continue reading The Shields of Zelda

Spending a childhood in Hyrule

The Escapist celebrates its 100th issue (congrats!) with a fascinating read in Marty M. O'Hale's piece A Childhood in Hyrule. For many of us, Link's first adventure in Hyrule was our first adventure game, if not first game period, and something that we will never forget. And The Escapist takes a look at all that in the only way they can: incredibly deep analysis and interesting observations. Seriously, if you don't read The Escapist, start right now.

See also: Honoring Gunpei Yokoi

Mario Kart, only with bikes instead of karts, and nothing instead of bikes


As part of a UCSB/Harley-Davidson film contest, Michael Figge and Jess Riegel shot this incredible stop-motion video about a race on invisible motorcycles. At first, it doesn't seem very Nintendo-ey (Nintendoughy?) but then, it suddenly becomes a Mario Kart homage. We heart stop-motion.

We'd love to know how they are sitting like that in every frame. Are they being held up by something? Are they sitting on something that was digitally removed from the picture? Are they just very precise jumpers? Watch the video after the break and formulate your own theory!

[Via 4cr]

Continue reading Mario Kart, only with bikes instead of karts, and nothing instead of bikes

DS turns up in the most mainstream of comics


A reader sent this one in after seeing the DS pop up in Sally Forth last Sunday in his local paper. Looks like we've found the secret to those crazy DS sales: rank bribery of Little League teams. Hey, whatever works, coach! But we think Nintendo DS may be a better reward than Disney World. Unless, of course, these kids are all secretly Japanese and thus already own twelve DS Lites.

[Thanks, TrojanDan!]

And I think to myself, what a wonderful preorder bonus

Fans anticipating the release of It's a Wonderful World won't have just a limited edition DS Lite bundle to look forward to; Square Enix announced today that preordering the Shibuya-district RPG in advance of its July 27th release will also net gamers a miniature kitten to hitch onto your handheld.

The feline charm mimics Pochi, a stuffed cat that plays into Shiki Misaki's (IAWW's female lead) special attacks, and also doubles as a wipe to keep your DS screens free of dust and kitty litter. Pounce past the post break for some in-game screenshots of Pochi.

See also:

Continue reading And I think to myself, what a wonderful preorder bonus

Kanji Dragon blows through Akihabara

Sunday came and went, taking with it our hopes of ever meeting Kanji Dragon's martial artist. The kung-fu character posed for a few shots at Success Corp's Akihabara event over the weekend, hyping the kanji-training action title. Just looking at the photos and all the fun we missed out on feels like getting crane-kicked right in the heart.

Though we didn't get to attend the soiree, it certainly wasn't from lack of trying. We stuffed our Pokemon backpacks with dozens of DS and GBA games, our favorite G.I. Joes, and a plastic baggie loaded with Pringles (these were crushed into little flaky bits before we even zipped our Squirtle bags shut) before heading out to hitchhike a ride to Japan, but we didn't even make it past two blocks before the police picked us up and drove us home. Our parents were pissed.

Hissatsu Kung Fu: Kanji Dragon DVDs containing all of the game's promotional videos, including an unreleased action clip, were passed out to attendees. Peek past the post break for another exciting image from the event and a look at the multicolored shirts that were given to those who preordered the title. You might also see us hugging our knees in the corner, sniffling and trying to pretend like we just didn't spend all afternoon crying.

Continue reading Kanji Dragon blows through Akihabara

Nintendo Short Cuts: Be the hero!

It must be hard, getting your friends together, making costumes, and getting props set up in under a week, if the story posted along with this video is true. Time constraints didn't prevent these Zelda fans from getting their send-up on film in time for the contest's deadline. The costuming looks pretty good, too, but we can't help but wonder if groups like this fight over who gets to be Link. Are they hiding bruises under those robes and tunics? We'll bet yes, but judging from the choreography of the fight scenes, it's likely no one got hurt too badly. Swing those swords like men, Zelda fans (or like angry women; we're all about equal opportunity swordsmanship around here)! But props on the setting, costumes, and music -- not bad for a rush job!

Check out the video for yourself after the jump.

Continue reading Nintendo Short Cuts: Be the hero!

Finally, a use for pants


Craftster user Trip_and_fall has made what must be the most charming DS Lite case ever. Or the creepiest, depending on your perspective. On the one hand, it's made out of some old Frito-Lay pajamas. On the other hand, it's made out of old pants. Does that bother anyone else?

We'd also like to point out the delicious irony involved in making a pocket out of pants so that your DS Lite doesn't get scratched up in your pants pocket. Furthermore, we'd like to point out that Doritos are often even more delicious than irony.

Bulky battery pack brings 40 hours of fun

Now, we've never had a problem with the length of charge our DS Lite's battery holds, but apparently the Japanese are in need of longer battery life from their DS. Enter this chunky battery pack, which has an internal battery and space for 4 AA batteries. A convenient switch located on the unit allows for the user to choose which power source they wish to utilize, even allowing the power to be cut off from the battery pack altogether and routed to the DS' internal battery.

Do you think the battery pack is too big and ruins the sleek, slim aesthetic of the handheld?

Brightening up your buttons

Rocky's ultra-modded DS Lite has gotten to the point where you can literally station it on the coastline, its LED beacons guiding ships to safe harbor. His latest hack installs LEDs under the ABXY buttons, sticking them in place with hot glue. We're not sure if the mod has any functional purpose -- save serving as a navigational aid to sailors at sea -- but it's certainly something we haven't seen done before with the handheld. Float your boat past the post break for larger photos of the DS lighthouse.

Continue reading Brightening up your buttons

Pokemon never tasted so delicious

UK Pokemon fans are in for a treat (literally) as tomorrow has GAME stores giving away the above. It's a Pokeball, as you can imagine, that's chocolate. Combining our two favorite things (Pokemon and succulent chocolate), we find ourselves jealous that we're not there getting a chocolate ball of our own and beating up others for theirs after we devoured ours.

Any of you in the UK plan on heading down to your local shop and gnawing on one of these?

Tetris goes 3D, but better than Welltris


The best thing about this homemade Tetris shelf unit? You don't have to build it out of whatever pieces randomly fall out of the sky. The second best thing? It holds your stuff. Well, not your stuff-- not until you decide to follow the tutorial on Instructables and build your own set.

We love gamer crafts to death, but they usually aren't functional. These shelves not only look like things that are in a video game, they also can be used for doing things.

The first person to build a shelf set based on a layout from Mode B of Game Boy Tetris wins 1,000 DS Fanboy points. (Offer only applies to players who do not hurt themselves with tools while building shelves. Also, points will not be awarded.) Oh, and sorry if we offended any Welltris fans.

[Via Siliconera]

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