Gavin is my favorite. I love the one where the Jehovah Witnesses come to the house, and his father stumbles downstairs, hungover, wearing nothing but a Twister mat draped around him like a shroud. There's so much comedy and tragedy seamlessly intertwined in Kevin McDonald's performance there that I cannot take it. I…

Normally I wouldn't expect a game like this to get physical release. But its' an NIS game, so I way hoping there was at least a chance. It was a download game in Japan though too from what I can see, so I dont' feel as slighted as I do with Tokyo Jungle.

I second the endless dungeon idea. Really amp up the randomization for the levels and let me have at it forever.

I'm definitely alittle disappointed on that myself. I'd love to have a case for such a bizarre game on my shelves. But a physical release in the West would have been way too much of a gamble for such an odd title.

I love Contact to death. It's one of Grasshoppers best works. Mature, funny & subtle. But even I was alittle surprised to see it on a "best of the DS" list. I will back you 100% on Radiant Historia as a suitable repalcement. That game is a powerhouse of awesome. I'm also really surprised to not see Dragon Quest IX…

For those of you who are collecting the old Skylanders figures, Best Buy is liquidating the toys for buy-1-get-1-free this week. I saw it in the Saturday circular this morning. It's in-store only though, so you actually have to go there.

Haha glad to hear you're down with 4. It's a gorgeous game. I just feel like 4 gets passed over alot because it showed up so late in the PS1's life cycle.

Stop Stop! You're making me want to start up a file this weekend, and I simply have too many other games to play.

Exactly. The map is still overhead, distanced from the scale world proper, but a tad more close-in and intimate than traditional JRPG world maps. Then you find a nice fishing spot, and settle in for the afternoon. :)

Yeah, I definitely lament the passing of the BoF franchise. I think 4 was a very special game that's not to be discounted either. 4 may not have improved over 3 in terms of gameplay mechanisms, but it was entirely unique in terms of it being a JRPG rooted in ancient Chinese and Japanese art and folklore. Suikoden…

I always loved the presentation of Breath of Fire 3's world map. Just like everything else in that game, the map was a great synergy of limited 3D tech with 2D sprites and sensibilities.

I know for me, andhelds are just another system to play, and the fact that they're portable is merely incidental. There's no direct "appeal" for me. I don't really view a disconnect between handhelds or consoles. I simply go where the software I want is. I want to play Kid Icarus: Uprising, so I want a 3DS. If…

Amen. I put so many hours into the first one.

It's devastating to hear that you had all the text ready to go, and it STILL fell through the cracks.

That's a really narrow definition of philsophical thought, and a rather close-minded view of the point of academia in general. Popular culture topics are extremely relevant from both a cultural and sociological perspective. Topics like video games, comic books, film, and television possess tremendous impact as…

First of all Jessica, I want to thank you for all the great work you guys do bringing great Japanese games over to the West. I'm particularly grateful for Xseed's work with the tail-end of the Wild Arms series . . . as I'm sure folk in the US would not have gotten those final entries without you.

It's acceptable to write academic papers on anything you want, provided it's evaluated by your peers, and has something worthwhile to say about your given field of study. My MA thesis was on superhero movies, and I've lectured on topics like Silent Hill and The Watchmen.

I'm looking forward to Missingno's scene.

Oh me too. There was one at the McDonalds right down the street for my house, before the brightly colored "playplace" became the norm. Both as a child and an adult, I have no idea what the hell I was actually supposed to DO to play in it.

I do not. It is, however, currently giving me nightmares as an adult.