The staff at DS Fanboy normally goes by the mantra, "Those who can't craft, blog," but apparently that's not always the case. Every week over at GamerTell, blogger Jenni Lada makes a game-related cross stitch based on images from various sprite databases. No one loves video game crafts more than we do, so you can bet we'd be all over these cute works once they came to our attention.
This week's stitch is an enemy from Square Enix's recently released game, The World Ends With You. Called Samba Pigs, these little oinkers are apparently tough to kill since they're always trying to escape. When you do nab them, though, they drop some worthwhile badges.
Since The World Ends With You is on our "do want" list, we couldn't help but admire the work and talent that went into this little craft (although it probably won't come as a surprise to you that this blogger's favorite of the bunch is Fire Emblem themed). Next week Jenni tackles two Naruto sprites from Jump Ultimate Stars (which doesn't sound like an enviable task), so if you're a fan of the orange ninja make sure to check back there.
Sure, this is just a used DS Phat with a sticker on it, in a chipped lockbox, but it's the coolest used DS in a box we've ever seen. That's because this particular arrangement is a retail download station, of the sort set up in local stores (and at Safeco Field). It's intended to broadcast demos to anyone who brings their DS to the location that houses it.
As if it weren't cool enough to have a DS Download Station that is never supposed to leave the store, this set comes with two cartridges full of Download Play demos. The current bid is only $.99, but who knows how high the reserve is, especially given the $350 Buy It Now price. For that matter, who knows if Nintendo will see the auction and shut it down?
Nintendo is making it worth your while to be packing your dual-screened beaut when you attend any Seattle Mariners home game this year, as the company has announced the Nintendo Fan Network is free for use at Safeco Field. Now you can check live stats and partake in some baseball trivia, as well as order food and have it delivered to you!
Some of you may remember the service itself was pretty cheap ($5) before, but now it's considerably more cheap. And considering how cheap general admission tickets at a baseball game are, we'd suggest you attend a game and see what it's like for yourself.
Did you know that the first issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly (and the preview issue before that) was branded as U.S. National Video Game Team's Electronic Gaming Monthly? It's been a long time since we thought about that group, although one of them has come to notoriety recently. Team member Steve Harris is EGM's founder, and many of the guys worked as reviewers and "strategy consultants."
The world of 1989 EGM is a different one than we know now. Companies like Taxan and Beeshu could afford many consecutive ad pages. FCI had its own strategy hotline. It was possible to write neutral-to-good preview text about the execrable Hydlide. And handheld gaming was just about to be elevated to the status of real gaming. Steve Harris's opening "Insert Coin" column refers to the rumor that "Nintendo may be leading the way with a mid-range cartridge system that will play a variety of games on a specially developed 2" LCD screen." Although the magic of that statement is diminished somewhat when a full writeup of the Game Boy, including a picture, appears toward the end of the magazine. Maybe he wrote that before that information came in.
Celebrating Mother 3's release in Japan two years ago today, Starmen.net co-founder and fan-translation project lead Tomato posted an update on the unofficial localization's outlook. With ten months of work already behind them, the team predicts that the completed English patch (GBA ROM required) still needs about seven months of hacking, script editing, and testing.
While that may sound like a long time, keep in mind that some fan-driven translations can take years before they're finished, and that's if they even make it past the first months of work before dissolving. Besides, it's not like Nintendo of America is rushing to translate the RPG.
To help you deal with the wait, Tomato has posted ten minutes worth of video showing the team's progress, all of which you can watch above! So close, and yet so far away!
Promotional Consideration is a weekly feature about the Nintendo DS advertisements you usually flip past, change the channel on, or just tune out.
In advance of this coming week's Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2 releases, Nintendo has commissioned two commercials to herald the dungeon crawlers, one for each edition, Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness.
Once again, this sequel adopts Chunsoft'sFushigi no Dungeon (Mystery Dungeon) design to allow gamers to play as a Pokemon. It's a solid set of titles, by most reports, but many genre veterans consider them inferior to games like The Nightmare of Druaga and Shiren the Wanderer.
Nevertheless, kids are crazy for the Pokemon branding, and the original GBA/DS Pokemon Mystery Dungeon releases went on to sell over 5.5 million copies worldwide. And that's why we now have a major publisher supporting an extremely niche genre with two separate commercials.
You probably won't be seeing this beauty in any churches, but this stained-glass Mega Man is all kinds of awesome. Not only is it completely gorgeous, as stained glass usually is, but it's a creative way of pixelating the Blue Bomber. Without much more gushing, we'll just acknowledge that this was a great idea, with great execution.
If you visit Gary in Cleveland's flickr account, you can also get a glimpse into how the stained-glass making process works.
Even though you kill them by the truckload in Dragon Quest games, when we see a product in the image of the winsome Slime, our thoughts are far from violent. The Hershey's Kiss shape and blank smile inspire a feeling of euphoria. We love the little guys.
NCSX is accepting preorders for an inflatable blue Slime, to ship out in June. The Smile Slime, which "stands" about a foot tall, would make an absolutely terrible beach ball. For some reason, though, we think the transparency of this plastic Slime makes it more "authentic" and appealing than a plush option. The $13.90 price isn't bad, either.
We recently came across this cover for UFO Interactive'sRock Blast -- a game we'd never even heard of before -- and immediately thought of, what else, Trix. Juxtaposing the two designs, it's impossible not to see the similarities! Comparing the two releases, though Rock Blast doesn't limit its potential audience to "just kids," Trix, being a breakfast cereal and all, has the advantage of being delicious.
Yes, you could argue that Rock Blast's puffed spheres have more color to them, implying richer fruit flavoring, but you're forgetting that Trix is also a good source of whole grain and calcium. No need to feel embarrassed, it's a common mistake. Bring a spoon past the post break and dig into a larger version of the Rock Blast cover.
Opinions on DS skins are quite evenly divided around these parts, but GelaSkins' latest range may influence a few of you naysayers. Having formerly specialized in producing extra layers for iPods and laptops, the company has turned its attention to Nintendo's ubiquitous handheld, by offering a range of 57 skins featuring prints by a wide array of artists.
The selection on offer is pleasingly diverse, featuring both classic works from the likes of Kandinsky, Hokusai, Escher, and van Gogh, as well as pieces from a number of (largely lesser-known -- well, by us ignoramuses, anyway) modern artists.
If you think any of the nine above are too gaudy for your tastes (though we personally love "Red Robot Leaving The City" by ExplodingDog), then check out our gallery for the full line-up. These aren't cheap at $20 a pop, but they're unquestionably unique, and if you buy three skins, you'll get a fourth free. Any of you anti-skin types converted by these?
Okay, so this isn't true, blue Tetris (that would probably infringe on some copyrights), but these faux-Tetris-esque Meiji chocolates still look fun to us. If there's one thing we've learned from disobeying our parents, it's that playing with your food is fun. The goal in this case is to put all the pieces together so that you completely fill in the rectangle board.
These Meiji chocolate bar puzzles come in different difficulties, too -- as the chocolate flavor gets more bitter (white, to milk, to dark), the piece placement gets harder. Of course, the hardest part would be the test in willpower. It's not easy to play the puzzle after you eat all the pieces, we're sure.
These might stale by the time you import them, but if you'd like some anyway for the novelty they cost 730 JPY (about $7 USD) each at Strapya World, sans shipping. As of posting this, there were only four units in stock, so you might want to get on that quickly if you covet such treats.
[Update: I just found out that the chocolate isn't actually edible! (Hear that? It's the sound of my heart breaking.) Sorry if I got any of your hopes up, too!]
The DS Life is a weekly feature in which we scour the known world for narrative images of Nintendo's handheld and handheld gamers. If you have a photo and a story to match it with, send both to thedslife at dsfanboy dot com.
Planning on getting yourself in shape this year with video games? Though Wii Fit and My Weight Loss Coach look like excellent tools to help you work out, their hefty prices -- $90 for the former, $40 for the latter -- might be too much for your slim budget. Illustrator Cory Godbey has come up with a lo-fi alternative to those expensive software solutions. Join us past the post break to find out how you can lose weight and save money! In just 30 days!*
Not long ago, Square Enix launched an official website for The World Ends With You, which had nothing on it besides a pointless countdown. While the website actually has stuff to look at now, it's still relatively "meh" as far as official sites go.
The Square Enix Members page is a different story, though. There, you can check out a creator's roundtable, as well the first chapter of the translated manga by Shiro Amano (with more chapters to come). Another neat feature is that by clicking on the few colored bits of the manga, you can unlock TWEWY ringtones. They can be downloaded for free once you're finished reading the chapter (this blogger's favorite of the ones offered is "It's So Wonderful.")
The website also reports that the official soundtrack for the game will be heading to iTunes soon, which is good news if you don't mind having DRM "protected" music.
We like this new trend of people crafting game-related afghans. First it was with Tetris, and now with a scene depicting one of our favorite plumbers (Mario, obviously). This particular blanket was made by ThomcatDesigns, who have earned our complete respect for their (his? her?) mad crafting skills. The detail in this makes it look like it came right out of one of our favorite NES classics.
Check the gallery to see the chronological progression of the afghan as it was created. It's pretty amazing to watch it turn from a mess of yarn into a masterpiece.
Gallery: ThomcatDesigns' Mario Afghan
[Via Technabob; pictures via thomcatdesgins' Flickr account]
Just when we thought we were tired of seeing videos of people playing the Super Mario Bros. theme with wacky, nontraditional instruments (including bottles!), here comes this brilliant piece of video to completely change our worldview. We cannot even imagine the time and effort required to arrange every bottle at just the right distance, with just the right amount of liquid, to accurately reproduce the Super Mario Bros. theme when hit in sequence by a passing RC car.
It must have been a lot less jovial in there for the guys doing this than it looked, and a lot more tense. Each note was another opportunity for the car to veer off course a bit and set off a domino-style chain reaction. Or even just to knock one bottle over and force the musicians to refill it to just the right level. The end result is transcendant enough to be worth it.
Did you know that the first issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly (and the preview issue before that) was branded as U.S. National Video Game Team's Electronic Gaming Monthly? It's been a long time since we thought about that group, although one of them has come to notoriety recently. Team member Steve Harris is EGM's founder, and many of the guys worked as reviewers and "strategy consultants."
