Konnichi wa, minna-san!

So, only a week and a half until gaming's biggest event begins! Unfortunately that week I'll be recovering from surgery which won't be too pleasant. But at least I won't have to go to work that week which gives me all the time in the world to keep up with the E3 news. So I did Microsoft last week, so I'm doing Sony this week. After the whole Xbox One debacle, and the fact that Nintendo is skipping out on a major press conference, a lot of gamers' eyes will be on Sony to show off what they've got for the PS4. I know I'll be watching with a keen eye to see what Sony can do for me, even though the chances of me picking up a PS4 before the first price drop is slim to none. I just don't have the money right now. But anyway, here's what I expect out of Sony at E3:

- let's see those third-party exclusive games! (best part about the PS3 was the huge number of third-party exclusive games)

- PS4's price and release date (better not be $600+ again)

- I need to see a system seller exclusive game! (from Sony or a third-party)

- THE. LAST. GUARDIAN. I don't care what it is, but I want an update! (I haven't heard a thing about this game all year and I'm getting really worried)

- more info on questions like used games, DRM, online service, etc.

A few things I don't want to see:

- A recap of their reveal (we got the idea already)

- primarily game-focused (no need to delve too deep into system stuff)

I suppose that's it for Sony. All I'm expecting out of them is a bunch of game announcements to get people interested in their console. They need to show why people should buy this over Xbox One and Wii U.
Next week, I'll do Nintendo and as you guys know, Nintendo is the one I'll be watching with a hawk's eye, particularly since they don't have a major press conference this year.

Mata ato de!

Konnichi wa, minna-san!

I got back from Anime North today. I was staying overnight at a hotel because of the driving distance between the venue and my house. The convention was from Friday - Sunday. I initially wasn't going to go because of my fairly recent interest in anime but my friends ganged up on me and convinced me to come along. They even went through the trouble of arranging for my hotel and roommates and one of my friends' dads drove me down there. Since they went through all the trouble, I decided I had better have a good time so I spent a while mulling over the schedule each day, figuring out exactly what I wanted to do. I left on Friday with high hopes.

Usually things don't go as planned and so it was the case for me. My friend showed up late to pick me up to take me down to the cnvention, and my roommate, who had put her name down for the room, also showed up late to the hotel. I was hoping to attend a panel for Cardcaptor Sakura, one of my favourite anime at 6. But because of the delays, that fell through as did a couple of other things I had planned. But my friend did mention that there was a flea market that only opens on Friday. So after a bit of wandering, I stumbled upon a Key/Kyoto Animation table. Kyoto Animation is my favourite anime studio so it caught my eye immediately. The vendor there had quite a few interesting things on sale. Most notably, he had the original visual novels for Kanon, Air, and Tomoyo After. I've been wanting to try a true visual novel for a while now. Out of the three, I liked the anime of Kanon the most (Tomoyo After is a spin-off to Clannad but the main character goes out with a different girl instead) so I bought the visual novel. Since it was Japanese-imported it cost me quite a bit of money: $90. But it's the limited edition which comes with the game, the original soundtrack and a remix soundtrack. Now... I just have to research how I'm going to play this. Aside from it being Japanese, the game is also a decade old (it came out in Japan in 1999). After the market, I ate dinner with my roommates and a few other friends. Once me, my friend, and my other 2 roommates returned to the hotel, my friend and one of our other roommates started working on their cosplays for Saturday. The two of them ended up staying up until 6 trying to finish them before they eventually went to bed. Which meant I was up that late as well...

Saturday was hectic. At 12, I went to a showing of K-On!! since I really do love that anime, especially its second season. At 1, I went to Crunchyroll's panel but there wasn't anything interesting there, plus it ended way earlier than I expected it to. So from 1:30 - 6, I just ended up wandering around the dealer's area. While there, I spotted the collector's edition for Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2. After mulling over it for a half hour, I eventually gave in and bought it. In retrospect, it's not really worth it (it cost me over $150) but what are you going to do? You're willing to pay for stuff you like. Speaking of which, I also bought the entire anime collection of Lucky Star. I already own volumes 1-5 but the 6th volume is a rarity and they go for $100+ online. So I decided: enough is enough, I need the 6th volume. It cost me $65 but that's still cheaper than buying the 6th volume online. After eating dinner with my friends at 7, I went over to a panel that was showing off Key's work. I alrwady mentioned them earlier but for those of you who don't know Key, they're visual novel makers from Japan and probably one of the more famous, if not the most famous, visual novel makers in the West. Their works include Kanon, Air, Clannad, Angel Beats, and Little Busters. Those 5 in particular also had successful anime adaptations. I've watched all of them except for Little Busters but I plan on watching that soon. After Key's panel I had another couple of events planned including a panel talking about eroge (18+ visual novels) but I decided to pass on those and I just went back to the hotel. That night was also eventful and bedtime was at 5:30. :P

Sunday was a fairly chilled out day. Since we all went to bed so late, there was no way I was waking up at 9 to pack up and then go to my planned events which was a Name That Tune game for RPGs, and a Hetalia panel. So I just stayed in the room until 12 and got packed up to leave. I went to a video game soundtrack panel at 1 where there was a discussion about how important music is in video games. It was nothing I didn't already know about video games already. From 2-4 I just hung out my friends before I went to a visual novel panel at 4. The genre seems really interesting and it's so weird that as a gamer, I didn't even know this kind of genre existed until last year. Since visual novels are really obscure and there are very few Western-made visual novels, I guess it's natural not to find them in the mainstream retail market. Besides, I find that a lot of gamers don't like to read which is pretty sad. I love reading and writing (as you can probably tell from this blog ;) ). After the visual novel panel, that was it for me and my dad came to pick me up from the convention.

Aside from my personal schedule, the atmosphere was great. The only other convention I've been to is Fan Expo for the past two years. I do like the organization of Anime North better than at Fan Expo. But then again, Fan Expo doesn't have a ticket/cap limit. The funny thing is as well, Anime North is fan-run. There were a lot of great cosplayers; for a few in particular, their attention to detail for their characters was uncanny. The only thing that kind of ruined the convention was that it was cold. I feel bad for the cosplayers, particularly the girls with their skirts, for having to cosplay on such cold days. The wind did not help matters at all.

I had a great time. Would I go again? Maybe. I prefer Fan Expo since there's more for me to do and there's more stuff I'm interested in. Plus when I go to Fan Expo, I don't need to stay overnight; I can just go home at the end of the day. I still have another year to think about going again. I'm sure my friends will probably gang up on me again next year to go. That's it for now. I'm glad to be back home and I can sleep in a bed again. I was on the floor for both nights because the hotel goofed up our reservation and we only got a one bed-bedroom. So naturally that went to the two girls. Now, back to my regular activities!
Mata ato de!

Hello everyone!

Well, it's the first time in a long time when I'm not mentioning anything Japanese in a blog post so I figured going back to English in my intro would work better. :P So anyway, the gaming world was shown the next Xbox, Xbox One, a couple of days ago. The reveal was met with extreme criticizm with many gamers saying Microsoft was finished. The primary concern was the lack of excluisve games or rather, any games aside from the obvious ones like the sports games. Microsoft seemed to focus their entire conference on multimedia while shoving games off to the side. While I initially hoped aboard the hate bandwagon since it was a disapppointing conference to say the least, I later took a more neutral stance. While more and more unsettling news about the Xbox One continues to pour in (codes attached to games so they can't be shared, not backwards-compatible, etc) I see many people looking to Sony for their next-gen fix. Heck, I even saw a change of heart in some gamers that has me speechless; they're looking to Nintendo now as well. While I like the fact that Nintendo has caught the eyes of some gamers, in kind of happened in the wrong way. While I would love to speak doom and gloom for Microsoft, there's a couple of things to keep in mind.

With E3 just around the corner, it wouldn't really make sense for Microsoft to suddenly shove all the games out at the reveal. If they did that, what would they show at E3? This is why I knew it would have been better for Microsoft just to unveil the console at E3 instead of making the reveal so close to E3. But Microsoft can do whatever it pleases. In this way at least, they got all the stuff gamers don't care about (TV, sports etc.) out of the way so that they could focus on the games at E3 which they've had trouble doing for years.

Microsoft did announce 15 exclusive games for the Xbox One, 8 of which will be new IPs. We already know about Quantic Break so that leaves another 7. Microsoft also said they're bringing back a "historic" Rare IP. Rare's IP has been laying dormant since the 360's beginning when we were given the lackluster Perfect Dark Zero and the horrendous Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts. Those two games are the only reason I'm not any more excited for a Rare IP return. Still, Rare is a legendary game company that made my days playing on the N64 tons of fun. Anything Rare would be great, but if it's Conker... it will be hard to for me to restrain my excitement.

So, with that stuff being said, there are a few things I would like to see from Microsoft at E3...

- announce a couple of these new IP games (Gamers need a real reason to pick up Xbox One over PS4 or Wii U)

- show Rare's game (preferrably with gameplay as well)

- Halo 5 (unlikely but it would be great)

- price and release date (hopefully the price is reasonable and the release date doesn't conflict too much with PS4)

- clarify more of the questions gamers have (this could be done beforehand as well)

...and some things to avoid.

- repeat what they showed at the reveal (We got the message already)

- focus too much time on Kinect... or any features we don't really care about (I swear if 10+ minutes is focused on Kinect or TV again... I'm going to lose it!)

- create some stupid scenario involving rappers, pop stars, or anything that's not a standard press conference (those things are beyond cheesy)

And with that, I've gotten my thoughts out. Microsoft isn't finished yet. Just as I say with the naysayers of the Wii U, it's not over until it's over (or in this case even begins).

I'm going to be heading out of town this weekend to attend an anime convention so I'll likely fall behind with gaming news. Well, it's not really out of town but far enough away that I'll be staying overnight at a hotel. Not to mention, I'm going with friends so it should be a fun time. I'll see you guys when I get back!

See you later!

Konnichi wa, minna-san!

So I've completed my Top 10 Most Disturbing Nintendo Bosses. But before I get to that, I'd like to update you guys on a couple of things.

Tomorrow, Nintendo will be hosting another Nintendo Direct. They've stated there won't be anything new announced but they will provide release dates on some of the games they've already announced. The Wonderful 101 has been confirmed to be in the video tomorrow so hopefully that means we will finally get a release date for that game. I'll likely blog about it tomorrow after the conference.

Second, I've been playing Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2. I wanted to finish Hyperdimension Neptunia before playing the second obviously, but I couldn't handle the terrible gameplay of the first game anymore. mk2 is WAY better than the first game. The gameplay especially took a big leap forward. I'm having a lot of fun playing the game. When I look at critics' reviews for the game, I can understand where they're coming from though. This kind of game isn't for everybody. When you have loli (young) girls as your main characters it's hard to see yourself playing this game in front of anybody. The CG scenes are also pure fanservice with one being so bad they had to cut it out of the game because the ESRB would have given the game an AO rating. The only reason I'm able to tolerate those kind of things is because the game is a parody and not really meant to be taken too seriously. Besides there are some flaws like recycled dungeons, repeititive music, and the sexsually suggestive things the girls say when they get hit in battle. At least they do in Japanese anyway. I haven't bothered listening to the game in English. Other than that, the game is really good.

And now to the main attraction. Here's my Top 10 Most Disturbing Nintendo Bosses! Complete with pics for the first time in my top 10s!

10. Giratina (Pokemon Platinum)

If I didn't already know so much about Giratina I would have been more creeped out. All you see of him is that black shadow emerging from the ground with those glowing eyes. If it was on 3DS that would have made it more disturbing. The place where you fight him, the Distortion World, is one of the creepier but cooler levels in Pokemon's history. The music is suspenseful and you know there's no way out of that world except to fight and beat/capture Giratina.

9. Mad Jack (Donkey Kong 64)

Jack-in-the-boxes are meant to surprise you. That's the whole reason why they were made. But when the thing that pops out of the jack-in-the-box isn't a pleasant thing, then it's creepy. Mad Jack is one such boss. Besides whenever they throw toys into games and they're scary, that's disturbing in its own right.

8. Ganon (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time)

I knew as soon as you fought Ganondorf in the final battle, this wasn't going to be just any simple fight. What follows is one of the best boss battles in history. So after you fight with Ganondorf, you have to leave the tower which is collapsing. After making it outside, Ganondorf reveals his true form, Ganon. Just seeing Ganon appear before you is intimidating but it's the fact that Ganon is constantly shrouded in darkness is what makes it truly creepy.

7. Mother Brain (Super Metroid)

At first this fight doesnt seem so bad. Its exactly like the original fight against Mother Brain from the first Metroid. Break the glass encasing the giant organ, and then shoot like crazy while dodging the projectiles floating around. So after pumping everything youve got into Mother Brain you finally defeat her. Or do you?!

What. The. Hell??!!! Not only is she not dead, she's back more powerful than ever! Her eye opens wide and she begins attacking you. The music that plays screams the fact that you stand no chance against her now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqaNrWcIRYY

The music combined with Mother Brain's appearance makes this fight with her messed up. Oh, and the fact that you can't win this fight either.

6. Mimi (Super Paper Mario)

While she may not seem so bad at first, this little girl transforms into a spider. And I hate spiders. I believe I have arachnophobia. The pic is a little blurry but as you can see, her body is still hanging off her head while she's transformed. Also, notice how her mouth is suddenly on top of her head while transformed. Want to know how that happened? She literally spins her head around while the sound of cracking bones can be heard. Whenever I hear bones cracking, that just sends chills down my spine.

5. Nightmare (Metroid Fusion)

The fight with Nightmare was a long time coming for those who have played Metroid Fusion. However, I don't think anyone was prepared for what they had to fight next. Metroid just as a whole, makes a point of making you feel all alone. So when you face this "nightmare" it creates a feeling if isolation in you that's implicitly disturbing. As if Nightmare wasn't ugly enough, its face just gets worse as it takes more damage.

Those bosses weren't so bad right? But, let's get down to the real disturbing bosses starting with two final bosses from the Kirby series which is probably the most "kiddy" Nintendo series there is.

4. 02 [Zero-Two] (Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards)

The final boss of Kirby 64 is 02, a demonic angel. To mess with the image of angels is already bad enough but when you fight 02, your objective is to pelt crystal shards into its eye which spills out blood. When you think of Kirby, you don't think of blood at all. Well this one does.

3. Marx Soul (Kirby Super Star Ultra)

Look. Just look. This is why people are afraid of clowns. I remember playing this at night and I was so creeped out. It took me a long time to fall asleep that night. The place where you fight him can't be any more foreboding and you feel trapped. He's also the final boss which means hes a real challenge. But I think the worst part about him is when he dies. He splits in two, frowns, and screams. That part is spine-chilling. It still gets me every time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfHah9s6BWE

Yeah... that's something real nice to put in a kid's game.

2. Majora (The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask)

You all knew this was coming. Majora has been creeping out Zelda players since the day Majora's Mask was released. Those eyes just stare into your soul. I dare you to stare into the eyes for more than 5 seconds and not get creeped out by them. The fight with Majora doesn't make it any less creepy; in fact I think its boss fight just adds to the disturbing factor. After you face the mask form, you then have to face this:

This is just pure disturbing since this form of Majora acts like a child, running around and squealing. The music also twists what initially sounds like kid's music into music that seems to just scream disturbing. Its third form isn't much better and it still gives me the creeps.

1. Giygas (Mother 2/Earthbound)

For those of you who actually know about Earthbound, you knew this was coming. I don't think there's a more disturbing boss in video games in general. While Giygas isn't disturbing on its own, its backstory and origins is what makes it so messed up. Here's the story of Giygas and how it was created in the game.

As a child, Earthbound's creator, Shigesato Itoi, accidentaly walked into the wrong movie theater. Itoi thought he was watching a woman being raped on the screen and that scene traumatized him ever since. So when he was making Earthbound, he recalled that scene in his mind and he fashioned Giygas. The level's design leading up to Giygas looks like a woman's birth canal and a silhouette of a fetus appears when facing one of Giygas' forms.

The extremely unsettling boss music doesn't help either. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYb9kSCkjE8

Itoi claims the whole fetus thing is a coincidence although we do know that he did fashion Giygas out of that traumatic childhood memory.

Also remember: this game was rated E (or back then, Kids-Adults)

So that concludes my list.

Mata ato de!

Honourable Mention:

Bowser (Super Mario 64)

Konnichi wa, minna-san!

According to most "hardcore" gamers whenever you think Nintendo, you think games with a kids' vibe to them. While I agree with some parts, not all Nintendo stuff is sugar and rainbows. Indeed, there are some darker games in Nintendo's library like the Metroid series, and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. And then there's more implicit darker games like Mother 3. Along with that, there are some bosses in Nintendo games that are just flat-out disturbing. I bet if you were to show these bosses and their respective battles to people who believe Nintendo's games are full of kids' stuff, I'm pretty sure they'll get a good surprise.

Keep an eye out for this next countdown while I look out for Nintendo's most disturbing bosses.

Mata ato de!

Konnichi wa, minna-san!

I meant to have this up a little bit earlier but other events got in the way. Anyway, this is my list of my favourite game developers from when I started playing games until now. Usually, once I've played a couple of games from a company, and I really like them, that's when I start following the company and play whatever they come out with next. These companies have stolen my heart and as such, I've decided to devote a list to my favourites. Now remember, this is a list of development teams, not of publishers. I tried to be as specific as possible with as much information as I could obtain. So, let's begin!

10. Capcom (based in Osaka, Japan) Parent Company: Independent

Notable Games: Mega Man series, Street Fighter series, Resident Evil series, Monster Hunter series, Devil May Cry series, VS. series, Ace Attorney series, Okami, etc.

Current Projects: Deep Down (PS4), DuckTales Remastered (Multiplatform), Lost Planet 3 (Multiplatform)

Notable People: Keiji Inafune (creator of the Mega Man series, and consultant on the Lost Planet and Onimusha series) [no longer with the company], Shinji Mikami (creator and director of the Resident Evil series) [no longer with the company], Hideki Kamiya (creator and writer of the Devil May Cry series, director of Okami) [no longer with the company], Atsushi Inaba (producer of the Devil May Cry series, Ace Attorney series and Okami) [no longer with the company]

I'll admit it, Capcom's glory days are behind them. They're one of the laughingstocks of the industry right now. But, once upon a time, Capcom was the creator of some of the best games to grace our game consoles. Mega Man, Resident Evil, Street Fighter... any of these games bring back great memories of how great they were back in the day. A lot of Capcom's initial success can be attributed to Keiji Inafune who was the face of Capcom up until 4 years ago. Thanks to the success of Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, and Monster Hunter in Japan, Capcom kept going strong until the end of this console generation.

9. Square [defunct, currently part of Square Enix] (based in Tokyo, Japan) Parent Company: Independent (former), Square Enix (current)

Notable Games [Square]: Final Fantasy series, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Chrono Cross, Kingdom Hearts

Notable Games [Square Enix]: Final Fantasy series, Kingdom Hearts series, The World Ends With You

Current Projects: Final Fantasy Versus XIII (PS3?), Final Fantasy XIV Realm Reborn (PS3 and PC), Kingdom Hearts III?

Notable People: Hironobu Sakaguchi (creator, and former director and producer of the Final Fantasy series) [no longer with the company], Nobuo Uematsu (composer of the Final Fantasy series) [no longer with the company], Tetsuya Nomura (former designer of the Final Fantasy series and creator and director of the Kingdom Hears series)

Square has the same story as Capcom. Once one of the untouchable names in the industry. Now, one of the most ridiculed game companies in recent memory. If you even start losing your main fanbase, that's not a good sign. But Square's games have stood the test of time and many of them are considered the best games of all time if not that, then at least the best RPGs of all time. Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI and VII. Square can still be great today, but only if they actually focus on the games fans want. With Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nobuo Uematsu gone now, the new Final Fantasy staff will have to really work hard to revive the series.

8. "Team Ico" (based in Tokyo, Japan) Parent Company: Sony

Notable Games: Ico, Shadow of the Colossus

Current Projects: The Last Guardian (PS3? PS4? Cancelled?)

Notable People: Fumito Ueda (director) [no longer with the company]

Despite having made only two games, I consider their two games, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, to be gaming masterpieces. Very few games can pull off a minimalist style but these guys did it and they also created two of the best games in recent memory. This team is something special and I would like to see more of their work. Unfortunately, their latest project, The Last Guardian has been stuck in development h.ell for the last 2-3 years. I'm hoping at E3 this year, they finally say something about this game.

7. PlatinumGames (based in Osaka, Japan) Parent Company: None (contracts)

Notable Games: Metal Gear Rising, Bayonetta, Vanquish, MadWorld, Anarchy Reigns

Current Projects: The Wonderful 101 (Wii U), Bayonetta 2 (Wii U)

Notable People: Atsushi Inaba (producer), Shinji Mikami (director of Vanquish) [no longer with the company], Hideki Kamiya (director)

If you compare Capcom and PlatinumGames, you'll notice familiar names. Atsushi Inaba, Shinji Mikami, and Hideki Kamiya were assigned to Capcom's Clover Studio which produced the cult favourite God Hand, and the critically acclaimed Okami. Following Okami's commercial failure, Clover Studio was closed down. The three got together and founded Seeds Inc. which then became PlatinumGames. Their games are some of the best action games around in my opinion. Games created by PlatinumGames are known for their over-the-top violence and ridiculous dialogue. And, of course, they're really fun to play. I respect them for making games for the fun of it; they don't care too much for sales. That's why I support them through and through.

6. Grasshopper Manufacture (based in Tokyo, Japan) Parent company: None (primarily Kadokawa Games) [former], GungHo Online Entertainment (current) (in North America: various publishers)

Notable Games: No More Heroes and No More Heroes 2, Killer7, Lollipop Chainsaw, Shadows of the Damned

Current Projects: Killer is Dead (Multiplatform), No More Heroes 3?

Notable People: Goichi Suda AKA Suda51 (director), Shinji Mikami (co-producer of Shadows of the Damned) [contract], Akira Yamaoka (composer)

Grasshopper Manufacture is almost exactly like PlatinumGames. Except Grasshopper Manufacture's games have more ridiculous violence and even more ridiculous dialogue. Seriously. Just try watching a couple of cutscenes from Grasshopper Manufacture's games. The dialogue is often so sexually suggestive you wonder how it managed to get past the censors. But, their games are never to be taken too seriously. Suda51 is known for his strange style even for Japanese standards. The addition of Akira Yamaoka has given their latest works great sounding soundtracks. Like PlatinumGames, Grasshopper Manufacture doesn't care too much for sales; they just like to make games.

5. BioWare (based in Edmonton, Canada) Parent Company: Microsoft (former), Electronic Arts (current)

Notable Games: Mass Effect series, Dragon Age series, Star Wars: The Old Republic series, Baldur's Gate series, Neverwinter Nights series

Current Projects: Dragon Age III (Multiplatform)

Notable People: Ray Muzyka (co-founder of BioWare) [no longer with the company], Greg Zeschuk (co-founder of BioWare) [no longer with the company], Casey Hudson (director of the Mass Effect series)

Well, here's the first of only two Western companies on my list. At the beginning of this console generation, I was in love with BioWare. Not only were they Canadian (which I am, just a FYI) but they were also RPG makers. I played Mass Effect in 2008 and Dragon Age in 2009. Both of them blew me away with their deep, lore-driven storylines. It really made the world come to life and you really felt like you were a part of that world. Mass Effect 2 is one of my favourite games on the Xbox 360. While they have faltered of late thanks to the poor ending of Mass Effect 3, they still hold a place in my heart for creating one of the best stories of this console generation with the Mass Effect trilogy.

4. HAL Laboratory (based in Tokyo, Japan) Parent Company: Nintendo

Notable Games: Kirby series, Super Smash Bros. series

Notable People: Satoru Iwata (former president and current executive producer as CEO of Nintendo), Masahiro Sakurai (creator, designer and former director of the Kirby series, creator and current director of the Super Smash Bros. series) [no longer with the company, still part of Nintendo (Sora Ltd.)]

HAL Laboratory's logo is permanently imbedded in my brain thanks to all the times I played Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee as a kid. The Super Smash Bros. series is one of my top 3 video game series of all time. The simple, yet deep fighting system of the Super Smash Bros. series has left me enthralled for years. It has a similar grip on my closest friends as well. Whenever we get together to hang out and play video games, a Super Smash Bros. game is always popped in without fail. Kirby's games are also a lot of fun if lacking in any real challenge when it comes to simply beating each level. But Kirby games always throw in challenges for you that keep you hunting. Masahiro Sakurai is also one of my favourite game creators.

3. Rareware (based in Twycross, UK) Parent Company: Nintendo (former), Microsoft (current)

Notable Games [Nintendo]: Donkey Kong series, Battletoads series, Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie, Goldeneye 007, Perfect Dark, Killer Instinct series, Conker's Bad Fur Day

Notable Games [Microsoft]: Perfect Dark Zero, Kinect Sports and Kinect Sports Season 2

Notable People: Tim and Chris Stamper (co-founders and various staff roles) [no longer with the company], David Doak (designer on Goldeneye 007 and Perfect Dark) [no longer with the company]

Oh Rare. As the second and last Western company on my list, they too, hold a special place in my heart. A lot of their games are childhood favourites of mine. Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong 64, Banjo-Kazooie, Goldeneye 007. Their games on the Nintendo 64 were some of the best on the system. Ever since their acquisition by Microsoft in 2002, they just haven't been the same. Microsoft is really throwing away chances to have great exclusives on their system. Rare owns the rights to Perfect Dark, Banjo-Kazooie, Killer Instinct and Conker. And what does Microsoft have them do? Make Kinect games. It's such a waste of talent.

2. Game Freak (based in Tokyo, Japan) Parent Company: Nintendo

Notable Games: the main Pokemon series

Current Projects: Pokemon X and Pokemon Y (3DS)

Notable People: Satoshi Tajiri (co-founder of Game Freak, and former director of the Pokemon series), Ken Sugimori (co-founder of Game Freak and art director of the Pokemon series), Junichi Masuda (composer and director of the Pokemon series)

If you know me, you know Game Freak was going to be near the top. Pokemon is a series of firsts for me. Pokemon Red: first handheld game. Pokemon Silver: first game I beat on my own. Pokemon Puzzle League: first game to 100% complete. Pokemon Colosseum: first GameCube game. I think you guys get the picture. The main Pokemon games also contain so many memories. Growing up as a kid when Pokemon was king was also a huge factor in making sure I'm hooked forever. Pokemon Gold/Silver is one of my favourite games of all time. Pokemon Diamond also rates really high.

Now for #1. My favourite development team of all time is:

1. Nintendo EAD (based in Kyoto, Japan) Parent Company: Nintendo

Notable Games: Mario series, Zelda series, Pikmin series, Mario Kart series, Animal Crossing series, F-Zero series

Current Projects: New 3D Mario (Wii U), new Mario Kart (Wii U), Zelda Wind Waker HD (Wii U) and untitled 3DS Zelda game, Pikmin 3 (Wii U)

Notable People: Shigeru Miyamoto (creator of the Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Starfox, F-Zero and Pikmin series, former director, producer, and designer of the Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, and Starfox series, current director and designer of the Pikmin series, and general manager), Takashi Tezuka (director and producer of the Mario series), Eiji Aonuma (producer of the Zelda series), Koji Kondo (composer of the Mario and Zelda series)

I may be a little biased but, if you haven't played a Mario game in your entire life, you aren't qualified as a gamer. How can someone go through their gaming career and not touch a Mario game? How can someone say they're an action/adventure fan without having played a Zelda game? Nintendo EAD is undisputedly one of the best development teams of all time. There's no arguing against their massive impact on gaming today. Heck, without Nintendo EAD, there might not have been a video game market past the video game crash of 1983. 3D games may have been different if Super Mario 64 didnt show us how to make a perfect 3D game. The majority of Nintendo's success can be attributed to Shigeru Miyamoto. As the creator of two of Nintendo's biggest franchises, he has earned his place in history as one of the best video game creators of all time. The millions of Nintendo fans are a living tribute to Miyamoto's success.

I just talked about the impact of Nintendo EAD but there's also the games. Nintendo EAD knows how to produce some of the best games to grace Nintendo's consoles. The majority of their games of been well-recieved by critics, and the vast majority of been well-recieved by fans. As of right now, Nintendo EAD has produced three of the 5 best games of all time according to Metacritic: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2. The future of Nintendo remains bright so long as Nintendo EAD continues to push out top-quality games.

So there you have it. In case anyone was wondering why I'm such a huge Nintendo fan, there's your reason. So many of their games are my favourite games. There's just a certain quality to Nintendo's work that keeps me coming back for more. Anyway, this concludes my latest top 10.

Mata to de!

Konnichi wa, minna-san!

I'll upload my actual top 10 tomorrow night. The reason I'm putting my honourable mentions on a seperate blog post is because I went over the character limit and I couldn't find a good way to shorten it. Besides listing off the development teams and giving a reason for their spot, I also listed off some famous people from the companies, their respective jobs, and the team's current project(s) if they have any. It's probably better if I divide my list like this so this way my main article is more focused. This is a list of development teams that didn't quite make the cut for me but I still love them regardless.

Honourable Mentions:

Intelligent Systems (based in Kyoto, Japan) Parent Company: Nintendo

Notable Games: Fire Emblem series, Advance Wars series, Paper Mario series, Pushmo

Current Projects: Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem (Wii U), Game and Wario (Wii U)

While I love most of their games, a couple of them left a sour taste in my mouth so I had to cut them from the list.

Monolith Soft (based in Tokyo, Japan) Parent Company: Namco (former), Namco Bandai (former), Nintendo (current)

Notable Games: Xeno series

Current Projects: Project X Zone (3DS), "X" (Wii U), unannounced 3DS game

Notable People: Tetsuya Takahashi (writer of the Xeno series and director of "X")

The only game I've played so far that they've made is Xenoblade Chronicles. I do have Xenosaga as well and I'll be playing that sometime soon. I'll definetely be picking up Project X Zone and "X". "X" simply looks astounding.

Retro Studios (based in Austin, USA) Parent Company: Nintendo

Notable Games: Metroid Prime trilogy, Donkey Kong Country Returns

Current Projects: Unannounced Wii U game

Notable People: Jeff Spangenberg (founder)

These guys are my #11 for sure. Retro Studios is often known as "the next Rare" to the Nintendo faithful especially after their fantastic work on Donkey Kong Country Returns. I'm really looking forward to hearing what Wii U game they're making. It's been promised as "something spectacular" and "something everyone wants us to make."

The Creative Assembly (based in Horsham, UK) Parent Company: Electronic Arts (former), Sega (current)

Notable Games: Total War series

Current Projects: Rome II Total War

Notable People: Jeff van Dyck (composer)

If you're into strategy games, you have to play the Total War series. It's the perfect blend of turn-based strategy and real-time tactics. The series beats out Civilization for me. It's that good.

Blizzard Entertainment (based in Irvine, USA) Parent Company: Independent (former), Activision-Blizzard (current)

Notable Games: World of Warcraft series, Warcraft series, Starcraft series, Diablo series

Current Projects: Starcraft II Legacy of the Void (PC), Diablo III (PS3, PS4), Titan (PC), Blizzard All-Stars (PC)

There's no real need to talk about Blizzard is there? If you're a PC gamer, you know who they are. Even if you're a console gamer you know who they are.

Pandemic Studios [defunct] (based in Santa Monica, USA) Parent company: None [contracts] (former), Electronic Arts (2007 - 2009)

Notable Games: Star Wars Battlefront I and II, Destroy All Humans series

I was really sad when they announced that Pandemic Studios closed down. All my hopes for Star Wars Battlefront III were dashed forever...

Ensemble Studios [disbanded] (based in Dallas, USA) Parent Company: None [contracts] (former), Microsoft (2001 - 2009)

Notable Games: Age of Empires series

It really is a shame that Ensemble Studios was shut down. I hope that another studio picks up the Age of Empires series since I only got into it after they closed down. I really want to play a brand-new Age of Empires.

Epic Games (based in Cary, USA) Parent Company: Independent

Notable Games: Unreal Tournament series, Gears of War series

Current Projects: Fortnite (PC)

Notable People: Cliff Blezinski AKA CliffyB (designer) [no longer with the company]

While I've only played a couple of Unreal Tournament games, the Gears of War series is one of the reasons I got a 360 in the first place. I hope the studio's quality doesn't drop now that CliffyB is gone.

Camelot Software Planning (based in Tokyo, Japan) Parent Company: Sega (former), Nintendo (current)

Notable Games [Sega]: Shining series

Notable Games [Nintendo]: Mario Golf series, Mario Tennis series, Golden Sun series

Current Projects: Mario Golf World Tour (3DS)

I've always loved the Mario sports games that Camelot has made and I just recently picked up all the Golden Sun games. If it wasn't for Mario Tennis Open, there might have been a spot on the list for them...

Naughty Dog (based in Santa Monica, USA) Parent Company: Independent (former), Sony (current)

Notable Games: Crash Bandicoot series, Jak and Daxter series, Uncharted series

Current Projects: The Last of Us (PS3)

While I'm not a huge fan of their games, I cannot deny the fact that they're really good. The Last of Us is looking great as well; I hope it does well.

Bungie (based in Bellevue, USA) Parent Company: Independent (1991-2000), Microsoft (2000-2007), Independent (2007-present)

Notable Games: Halo series

Current Projects: Destiny (Multiplatform)

Halo. 'Nuff said.

Konami (based in Tokyo, Japan) Parent Company: Independent

Notable Games: Metal Gear series, Contra series, Castlevania series, Silent Hill series, Dance Dance Revolution series

Current Projects: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, untitled 3DS Contra game

Notable People: Hideo Kojima (creator and director of the Metal Gear series), Akira Yamaoka (composer of the Silent Hill series) [no longer with the company]

I'm not a Metal Gear fan and that's one of the reasons why Konami didn't make the list. It's not that I don't like the series; it's just not my kind of game. Hideo Kojima is one heck of a funny guy though. I love hearing about all the jokes he throws into his games for fun.

Valve Corporation (based in Bellevue, USA) Parent Comapny: Independent

Notable Games: Half-Life series, Team Fortress series, Portal series, Left 4 Dead series, DotA 2

Current Projects: Half-Life 3???

Notable People: Gabe Newell (founder and managing director)

FLAME SHIELD UP! Why is Valve not on the list? I HATE Steam's service. FLAME SHIELD UP!

So that concludes my honourable mentions list. Look forward to my top 10 game developers tomorrow!

Mata ato de!

Konnichi wa, minna-san!

So I've decided my next top 10 will be my favourite game developers. I think I've got it all down but if any of you guys know some developers I might have missed, list some below. I like to believe I know this industry very well but sometimes I forget stuff. So, if you know some famous or good developers, go ahead and list some. Remember, it's the development team, not the publisher. But in some cases the developer is also the publisher. Ex: Epic Games, Blizzard Entertainment. If all goes well, I should have the top 10 up by tomorrow night.

Mata ato de!

Konnichi wa, minna-san!

So, the year is basically half over. We had the first big rush that is charateristic of the game industry. A few games are releasing here and there but few are big titles. Everything will pick up again in September, most likely, when a whole new whirlwind of big games are released. In the meantime, I've got a few games on my mind. The games have to be confirmed for release this year. Starting with the games I want most, here's what's on my wanted list and what I'm looking out for:

Wanted Games:

Rune Factory 4 (3DS) Release Date: Summer. Publisher: XSeed Games

I played the first Rune Factory and I absolutely loved it. It was Harvest Moon, which I had already fallen in love with, combined with dungeon-crawling and RPG elements. I've been keeping my eye on this game ever since it was announced for Japan last year. However, I was unsure if it would make it to Western shores. Thankfully, good ol' XSeed announced at the end of January that they would release the game in North America. Recently I took a look at some of the trailers for the game and read up on some of the gameplay improvements, and my hype for this game just went through the roof. Now I'm anxiously awaiting an actual release date from XSeed. I need this game now!

Pokemon X/Y (3DS) Release Date: October. Publisher: Nintendo

To say I'm excited for this game is an understatement. I'm just so happy that I'll finally be able to enjoy 3D battles on the go! Of course, it's not just the battles in 3D, the game is now in full 3D as well. I can't wait to experience the brand-new world and return to Pokemon in all its glory. This is the first time since Diamond/Pearl's release that I am truly excited to play the next Pokemon adventure.

Earthbound (Wii U Virtual Console) Release Date: TBA (before the end of the year). Publisher: Nintendo

"WHAT!!! NO WAY!" That was my reaction when Nintendo announced that they would be bringing this highly-asked for title to North America and Europe at last. Geez Nintendo, it only took over 5 years of pleading for it to happen. See what Miiverse is capable of? Nintendo actually saw the massive number of posts about people wanting its localization. Or re-localization. Whatever. So now, if we want a game, post about it constantly on Miiverse and Nintendo is bound to see our interest in the game. :P Now that this is finally getting released here, I don't have to worry sbout emulating it or paying $150+ for a SNES copy online.

Project X Zone (3DS) Release Date: June 25. Publisher: Namco Bandai

A tactical RPG crossover featuring characters from Capcom, Namco Bandai, and Sega? Sign me up! The announcement that the original Japanese audio track was kept in also helps. I need to continue being surrounded by the Japanese language. ;)

Tales of Xillia (PS3) Release Date: August 6. Publisher: Namco Bandai

I'm a more recent fan of the Tales games. I picked up Tales of the Abyss, Tales of Symphonia, and Tales of Graces f within the past year and I liked all of them. So naturally, I'm excited for the next entry in the series. Thankfully, I'm still fresh off of their battle system thanks to Ni no Kuni which utilizes the same kind of gameplay style.

Shin Megami Tensei IV (3DS) Release Date: July 16. Publisher: Atlus

I haven't played any of the games in this series and I'm not quite sure why I haven't. It's a big name in the JRPG genre. I guess it's like how I never touched a Final Fantasy game until last year when I got Final Fantasy XIII-2. Anyway, with the upcoming Wii U game Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem coming out, I better start learning some of the characters. Anyway, from what I've seen of the gameplay, it does look quite promising.

Company of Heroes 2 (PC) Release Date: June 25. Publisher: THQ (former), Sega (current)

So, finally breaking away from the sea of JRPGs, here comes my first Western game. Company of Heroes 2 was set to launch in the first quarter of this year but because of THQ's shutdown, the release of the game was pushed back until a new company was found. Sega bought the rights to the series and now Sega has a great future ahead of it in terms of strategy games since they already own the Total War series (I would have put the upcoming Rome II: Total War on the list but I'm not sure if it will come out this year or not). I loved the first Company of Heroes thanks to my love of WWII and history in general and it will be great to hear more about the Eastern Front of the war which is often forgotten about. I make the argument that the Soviet Union really did do most of the lifting during WWII and the demands the Soviet Union made after the war were well-founded enough. But anyway, moving on...

Pikmin 3 (Wii U) Release Date: August 4. Publisher: Nintendo

We finally have a release date for Pikmin 3... and it's way later than expected. Initially a "launch window" game (Wii U launch - end of March 2013), and then a Q2, now it's an early Q3 game. My hype for this game dropped slightly with the announcement that they wanted to make the game time-based like the original game but I'll still grab this game since I had still liked the first game and I loved the second.

Rayman Legends (Multiplatform) [Picking it up for Wii U] Release Date: September 27. Publisher: Ubisoft

I'm NOT happy about the game's delay. Ubisoft delivered two swift nut punches at the same time for us Nintendo fans. One: the game would be going multiplatform. I didn't care too much about it going multiplatform but the second punch: the game would be delayed until September. This delay annoyed everyone; the Wii U fans who were anxiously awaiting its release, and the development team. The director was furious; he stated he might actually leave the company over the decision. His anger is understandable; the game IS complete and it was all ready to ship. I, for one, cannot understand the point of delaying the game. If the development team has absolute confidence that the game is ready to go, then go ahead and release it. The Wii U fans would say how amazing the game and that would hype up the game more. Not to mention it would be free marketing. The reviewers would have given it high scores. I have no idea what was going through Ubisoft's mind when they made that decision. Still, it's not to late to turn it around and release the game early for Wii U.

Watch Dogs (Multiplatform) [Picking it up for Wii U] Release Date: Holiday. Publisher: Ubisoft

I will do everything in my power to avoid playing GTA. I despise the series because I think it's overhyped and overrated. Not to mention it gives the industry a terrible name. While I don't know if this game is a true open-world game or not, but from what I've seen of it, it sure looks like it is. Having absolute power over the electronics of the city is awesome. Hackers could learn a thing or two from playing this game. Just watch the number of hackers rise after this game's release...

DuckTales Remastered (Multiplatform) [Picking it up for Wii U] Release Date: Summer. Publisher: Capcom

The original DuckTales on NES is a real gem. To see it return is surprising but certainly not unwelcome.

Legend of Zelda (3DS) Release Date: Holiday. Publisher: Nintendo

Sweet! A Zelda based off A Link to the Past? Yes please!

Well, those are the games I'm picking up for sure. Now here a few I have my eye on:

The Last of Us (PS3) Release Date: June 14. Publisher: Sony

I always get nervous when I see a game that features a constant escort. It's the reason why I didn't pick up BioShock Infinite when it first came out. I know I really shouldn't be worrying about this game since Naughty Dog is behind it but things can go wrong.

Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D (3DS) Release Date: May 24. Publisher: Nintendo

I love Donkey Kong Country Returns on Wii. But my debate is: Do I love it enough to basically buy it again on the go?

Mario and Luigi: Dream Team (3DS) Release Date: August 11. Publisher: Nintendo

I have played other Mario RPGs but... I'm not feeling up to this one. Maybe more gameplay trailers will help me make up my mind?

The Wonderful 101 (Wii U) Release Date: ??? Publisher: Nintendo

Um... Nintendo? News about this "launch window" game please? That one minute trailer shown back in February isn't enough.

So that's it for me. I'm sure to make a whole new list once E3 comes around.

Mata ato de!

Konnichi wa, minna-san!

Nintendo held another Nintendo Direct today showing off 3DS games. Here's a rundown of what was shown off today:

- Mario and Luigi Dream Team story and gameplay elements revealed. August 11 release date

- Mario Golf World Tour wireless features revealed: Local and Online multiplayer, friend and theme communities, summer 2013

- unknown Mario Party 3DS title. Different game board gimmicks, also uses AR cards. Winter 2013.

- more info on Super Luigi U DLC. Summer 2013.

- Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. The game difficulty in a specific mode has been made easier. The new mode and original mode are available. May 24 release date.

- A new Yoshi's Island revealed.

- Mario vs Donkey Kong: minis game is downloadable only. May 9.

- Wii U Spring Update: next week. Will improve load times, being able to transfer save date, press B to go straight to the Wii menu, downloading while the system is off, and being able to download and install updates without booting the game. The Wii U Virtual Console will also launch with this system update. GBA and GameCube games will be coming soon.

- Wii U Panorama View available next week as a demo.

- more info on Pikmin 3. New Pikmin type: Winged Pikmin. will launch within "the next few months"

- Earthbound/Mother 2: WILL COME TO VIRTUAL CONSOLE IN NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE!!! ALL CELEBRATE!!! NINTENDO HAS FINALLY ACKNOWLEDGED THE FANS!!! Will release sometime before the end of the year.

- Game and Wario: more details revealed. Shows off Gamepad use and mini-games. June 23.

- Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate Wii U software update.

- promoting Lego City Undercover and Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins. The Chase Beings releases on April 21.

- Animal Crossing New Leaf: 3DS XL hardware bundle. $219.99. June 9.

- The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons coming to Nintendo 3DS eShop. May 30.

- Bravely Default: Flying Fairy will release in North America! Also announced a new Professor Layton game. Both are available in 2014.

- Level-5 games: The Starship Damrey, Bugs vs. Tanks, Attack of the Friday Monsters coming soon.

- Shin Megami Tensei IV coming to 3DS. July 16.

- New Zelda game based off The Link to the Past. Set in the same universe. Holiday 2013.

That's all for today.

Mata ato de!