Adventures in Japan

Rub The Stomach

On Sunday we went to the Japan Games Festa, where all sorts of new and not yet released games were on display. I was a little bit happy.


First thing I did upon arrival was to get in line for some DS hands on play time. Actually, the first thing I did was avoid a giant, spasming cat blob near the entrance. That thing was weird man.


As were most of the DS games we played. The DS, in case you don't know, is a portable game system with Dual Screens, one of which is touch sensitive. It makes for some interesting game experiences. For example, I had to rub a dude's belly, to get him to puke up some fish he accidentally swallowed. Each time he purged, a rainbow would appear over his head. Using the stylus on the touch screen is a very different kinda of play mechanic. It makes everything seem more fun somehow. Maybe it is just the thrill of the new. I don't care. I was thrilled. But I wasn't very good.


Carla schooled me. She handled the fish way better, found the girl's missing items of oddness, and defeated a herd of stampeding bulls. Plus she did a little dance after each stage. I'm not so good with the dancing. I'm going to talk a bit more about the game. The graphics were like something out of an Ipod commercial, all the people were silhouettes and the backgrounds consisted of bright primary colours for the most part. I don't know what it sounded like, cause the showroom floor was plenty loud. I liked the game, I thought it was rad.


It weren't my favourite game there though, that honour belongs to Donkey Kong's Jungle Beat, another Nintendo game that uses a unique form of control. It's a platform game where you run and jump and swing, but you input all of these actions via a pair of bongo drums. I played it multiple times. It's really easy to learn and great fun to play. Plus it looks and sounds fantastic. And it's full of little touches, like the way you need to applaud before Donkey Kong will appear. Man, I want's me some vidja games. I guess a DS'll do. But we might have to get two. Carla seems to really want one now. Not that I'm complaining.

I'd talk more about the games there, but I don't want to bore y'all. But, I'll give a quick list of some of what I played, just to rub it in the faces of those who do care.

Mario 64x4, WarioWare DS, Biohazard 4, Devil May Cry 3, Metal Gear Solid 3, Goldeneye: Rogue Agent (crap), Altered Beast, Viewtiful Joe 2, plus plenty more. If I had my own blog, I might go into more detail...

Plus we got all kinds of free swag. Mainly stickers, but also a free DVD and a music CD. Good haul for a free show.

After the show, we met up with David and went out for some enjoyable half price-Indian food and a relaxing drink and talked about videogames and near death experiences. Good day.