As so often happens, I was browsing late tonight when I stumbled upon this hilarious and entirely uninformative website/blog called Cake Wrecks. You’ll find it all here, from horrifically badly designed cakes to ludicrous spelling errors, to photorealistic babies (can you imagine cutting into one of those? Egh!)
But I thought this one was particularly amusing (as well as relevant to my interests!): the GTA: San Andreas cake.
I hope that most of you have played or at least know about Rhythm Tengoku, in my opinion the best GBA game ever. The game is designed by the same team that does that Wario Ware series, and they certainly don’t hide this fact. The game is basically a bunch of mini-games that are extremely simple to play (a lot of them just require you to press A–that’s all). So what makes this the best game on the GBA? It’s quite simple really–all the games are based on music. The way in which this is done differs per game, but the sheer amount of fun you have when playing this game is unbelievable. Some you have to tap the A button in rhythm to make your guy march along to the commands of a trainer, others you have to whack baseballs, or have to clap along with a bunch of monkeys wearing afro wigs. What they all have in common is that by playing the game visually, you will fail. It’s all about the music in this game.
And guess what: the music is made by one of my favorite Jpop producers of this day and age: Tsunku! He’s done Morning Musume and Berryz, and currently he is putting a lot of effort into his new label called TNX.
So when they announced a sequel to it for the DS, called Rhythm Tengoku Gold, I was obviously very excited about it. As you can see from the graphic at the top, it came out in Japan recently. In my opinion it’s every bit as good as the GBA game, and perhaps even better. The music is really suited and made by one of my favorite pop music composers, Tsunku. This game shows a bit of a different side of him, and I think it’s really good stuff.
Since the game is hard to explain (as I’m finding out while typing this), and screenshots really don’t do it justice either, here is the best way to understand what the game is all about: a few Japanese people playing the game. I think they might be celebrities, but I don’t know:
Although the game is simple, it’s actually also really harsh and unforgiving, so you will spend a lot of time swearing at how unfair it is. At least I do. But the satisfaction and joy of just getting into the groove is really amazing, and it’s just one of the most outright FUN games I’ve ever played.
The game is also coming to the rest of the world as Rhythm Heaven, although it remains to be seen if the localization will suck (there are a LOT of songs in Japanese, for example). No date has been set for the international release however, so for now your only recourse if you want to get this game is the shady world of imports. I recommend Play-Asia or eBay, although neither are cheap. Trust me though, it’s well worth it (I’m not saying this will happen, but the GBA game it’s now almost impossible to find, with only Amazon.jp seeming to have it at all, and for almost double the original price with shipping).
One really cool thing about this game over the GBA game is that this game seems much more Tsunku-ish in the music. There are a lot of outright pop songs, sung by various members from TNX such as The Possible and a girl from Canary Club, Eri~na. Overall the music is of a fantastic quality, definitely the best soundtrack I’ve ever heard on the DS by a good margin, and there is a LOT of it.
So has anyone else tried this game? What do you think? Does it measure up to the original?
Well, not really–I started writing some articles for OSV, a website dealing with all kinds of audio stuff, game music, production and also demoscene related stuff. That’s where I come in really, as I’ve been reviewing some recent releases on the demoscene.
But a couple days ago I got the chance to interview one of the guys I really admire in the scene: Hunz. For those that don’t know him, he’s one of my favorite trackers, and also a really nice down-to-earth guy. So check out the interview here! We talked about everything from trackers to production to shaving, I think it’s pretty interesting to read. And be sure to check out his new album, When Victims Fight, available from Apegenine.
Recently my contract with my mobile phone company dropped out, so I’ve been shopping around for a new phone. I just ordered one in fact (free with the contract!), but here’s what I really wanted to get: The HTC Touch Pro.
It’s basically an iPhone with the touch screen and all, but it has the additional benefit of a full 5-row qwerty keyboard. It also looks freakin’ stylish! I couldn’t quite afford it and I don’t use my phone that much so I went for a cheaper old version of this, the HTC 710. It’s on the way to my home now, but I’ve tried it at the store and it’s pretty sweet. It has a keyboard which I always wanted, Mini-SD slot, Wifi support, and runs Windows Mobile 6 (which means it has MSN, Office, and so on). I’m hoping that I will be able to do a lot of things during travel that I used to need my laptop for with this phone, such as updating this blog and checking my mail. The fact that it connects to wifi networks is of course a huge plus, since it means I won’t have to spend expensive provider online fees, as long as I’m somewhere that has wifi.
Here’s an image of that phone, unfortunately it’s not quite as spectacular as the Touch Pro but I think it’s kinda cute anyway:
I’m so excited about this announcement! When I heard about it the first time it was just a rumor and I had no faith in it actually being true, but apparently it’s 100% legit. In a nutshell, the team behind Megaman X 1-3, Z and XZ are apparently working on a sequel to the original Megaman series. And not only that, but the game is going to be completely 8 bit! Judging from the screenshots, the game is going to be entirely classic, although some of the descriptions make it sound like there is a little bit more tweaking here and there.
Here’s one of the dozen or so screenshots that have made it out on the Internet so far (the rest of them can be found at the link below):
Apparently, this robot is not made from vinegar (as I initially expected from the name), but instead has the daunting task of educating guests at Tamanoi’s “Cyber Trip” amusement theater. Yes, an amusement theater based around a vinegar company. I’m getting thirsty just thinking about it. Anyway, the robot looks pretty awesome and is built by buildup, who seem to make all kinds of entertaining products if their folder is any indication.
I’ve been watching a lot of videos of people playing on the Yamaha Electone series, and this one in particular inspired me a lot and made me want to buy one of my own. What a great instrument, and this girl really rocks out on it!
MEG, a Japanese singer and fashion designer that has been recording tracks with my favorite producer Nakata for a while, recently released a new album. (Incidentally, here is her blog if you can read Japanese. She also posts a lot of photos which are fun to look at if you can’t, like me.)
Anyway, this album is really awesome, a combination of J-pop and French disco ala Daft Punk. The singles (HEART and MAGIC, which I can’t seem to find the video for right now) give a pretty good impression of the album, so if you like what you hear, perhaps you should give it a try!
