Posts Filed Under: japanland

What a week! Any seven day period that includes the long-awaited release of Superbrothers Sword & Sworcery EP must be a good one right? If you haven’t already downloaded the iPad release, grab it from iTunes now. Done? OK good! Let’s carry on.

If you’re hankering for ways to show your love for Japan, you can still bid on this custom Xbox 360 stuffed with XBLA games, give through the purchase of Team Fortress 2 hats or donate through the PlayStation Network.

Or you can simply keep your spirits up about the whole thing with Street Fighter’s Japanese cast in wallpaper form.

Did you catch wind of William “xiaobaosg” Chua’s awesome Contra-inspired ukiyo-e print? Do your eyeballs a favor and check it out. You know, he’s the artist responsible for Meat Bun’s ukiyo-e style Ninjawarriors tee. Fact!

Finally, for some ninja fail fun, give it up for Shogun 2.

Let’s catch up on all the things that happened this week, starting with our first real look at The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Now, I may not have been an Oblivion player (I, on the other hand, beat Oblivion, Knights of the Nine, and Shivering Isles. -Scott), but my goodness does Skyrim look pretty amazing. 2011 may be the year of the RPG, with Bethesda’s game being joined by Mass Effect 3, Dark Souls, Dungeon Siege III and Skyrim this year. Maybe Diablo III should take its time…

If you need more analysis into that Skyrim debut trailer, don’t miss PC Gamer’s shot-by-shot breakdown.

Oh, one more RPG for the list. A little Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked, anyone?

You know, someone should make a video game based on the Kewpie Corporation’s kaiju playing cards. I don’t know how it would play, but it will have to involve mayonnaise in some capacity.

Finally, we couldn’t pass up a chance for a Meat Bun cameo. Mike Ross repped some Meat Bun on G4 this week, playing a little MVC3. Yuss!!

What are we talking about in 140 characters or less this week? Our love of Hsien-ko (aka Lei Lei) from Darkstalkers, the latest confirmed addition to Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. Did we mention we did a really swell tee for Capcom for MVC3? Yes, we sure did.

Speaking of Capcom, I wonder if they consider Blanka’s day job to be canon. As a meter maid of this caliber, he’d fit right in in Metro City.

On the arcade front, get familiar with the latest Elevator Action… Death Parade!

And have you seen the new Silent Hill? Like all games in this series after Silent Hill 3, we’re taking a wait and see approach. But Vatra Games is definitely making Silent Hill pretty. Dat fog!

As we look for every little morsel on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Game Informer comes through with details on the combat system. Is there some Demon’s Souls influence in here?

Finally, how cute are these antique Japanese postcards?

When traveling to Tokyo, I have a few key destinations I never miss. It’s bordering on routine, but with so much activity, so many brightly colored things to buy, blazing neon lights and millions of people crammed into the streets, it never fails to feel fresh. If you’re going to Tokyo (and you’re reading the Meat Bun blog), your first destination should always be Akihabara, Tokyo’s electric town and a mecca for all things geek.

Manga, toys, hobbyist goods, anime, and, of course, video games will surround you, assaulting your wallet. Your first stop for all things old should be Super Potato.

Grab an old Famicom, some lovingly cared for carts, one or two video game art books, then marvel at the 98,000 yen copy of Mortal Kombat Trilogy for the PlayStation or the even more expensive Japanese release of Maximum Carnage for the Sega Genesis, which is outrageously priced at nearly one thousand U.S. dollars. They also have Super Mario World golf shoes, a retro arcade on the third floor and, well, just about anything else you’re looking for. After Super Potato, I like to hit Liberty 7 for old capsule toys, Sofmap for something new and cheap, then GoGo Curry or Mister Donut for a massive calorie injection.

Remember, never go into the basement of an Akihabara manga store. That’s where the repulsive porn is kept.

Maybe you’ll want to go to the Gundam Cafe? I don’t know. The lines were crazy long on the weekend.

I prefer to eat my meals at the Kebab Box in Harajuku before heading to Beams T, Graniph, Kiddie Land and the approximately one thousand other shops in the Laforet Building. The Kebab Box serves one thing and is quite proud of the fact that Britney Spears has eaten it.

Foreigners may also like to hit up the crepe stands, popular with weeabos and approved by young Japanese idols, apparently.

For a less well-worn destination, make sure to head to the massive Mandarake in Nakano.

More lovingly preserved robots, manga (helpfully catalogued in English!), disgusting hentai, video games, action figures, vinyl toys and even more nerd stock than your bank account could ever handle. Nakano is also a prime destination for getting lost and getting drunk, with dozens of little watering holes tucked away a few blocks from the train station.

But go to the Nakano Mandarake, which is spread across multiple floors at the far end of the Nakano Broadway mall. Get lucky, get a one-eyed lucky cat!

Today Oxygen Games released a rather disturbing press release, announcing their new game for the Wii, DS, and personal computer entitled Hysteria Hospital: Emergency Ward.

In addition to it’s “Endless Mode” as seen above, the warning went on to explain, “Hysteria Hospital may cause your blood pressure to shoot sky high” and “may cause you to become over excited and turn you into a bundle of nerves!”

Luckily they make a cream for that.

Tokyo Game Show 2008 gave me the opportunity to travel to Tokyo for the fourth time, but this was the first trip that afforded me the opportunity to hit up Super Potato, Akihabara’s retro super shop. Want to sit on a throne made of Famicom cartridges? Want to buy a thousand dollar copy of Maximum Carnage? Need a PC Engine Shuttle? Official Super Mario World golf shoes? All can be had at Super Potato!

You can also get a copy of the Virtual Cameraman 2 Mega LD for your Mega Drive compliant Pioneer LaserActive.

Why would you want such a thing?

Because it supports the LaserActive 3-D Goggles for hands-free enjoyment. And you’ve got to dust off the LaserActive at some point. A night in with average Japanese bikini models from 1994 is a perfect excuse!

Frankly, there are hundreds of post-worthy nuggets tucked away inside Super Potato. From the copy of Nice Body — “for professional use only” — for the PC Engine to the Atari 2600 games curiously marked up to $25 a pop (must remember to hock our copies next trip) to the looping Kid Icarus soundtrack, there’s so much to see and do, it’s like a vacation within a vacation.

We’ll just leave with this parting shot of Veigues Tactical Gladiator, the TurboGrafx 16 game with the most deliciously phoned-in box art we’ve ever seen.