Photos: Ni no Kuni 2

Ni no Kuni 2 (Another World 2) is a sequel to the popular videogame released on Playstation 3 and Nintendo 3DS. This new title will arrive on Playstation 4 and Windows PC on March 23. It features art designs and animation from many former Studio Ghibli artists, many of the very same people who worked on the original, including a musical score by Joe Hisaishi.

The software studio is Level-5, is best known for the Professor Layton and Inazuma Eleven series of videogames, and has been extremely successful since its founding in 1998. Ni no Kuni 2 is receiving a great amount of positive buzz, and it's clearly easy to see why from these screenshots.

The character and art designs practically scream Ghibli, which is understandable given the involvement of studio alumni. Veteran director Yoshiyuki Momose is once again directing the animation scenes in this sequel, as he has done with the first Ni no Kuni. I always wondered what could have happened if he was given the chance to direct a feature film at Ghibli. His Capsule music video trilogy remains among the most exciting animation the studio has ever produced.

It is nothing short of miraculous that modern videogames can appear virtually indistinguishable from animated films and television series. The days of having to look at blocky squares and stare at the cover illustration for imagination are long gone. I can't imagine any kid looking at this videogame and scoffing in disgust. "Ugh, these graphics suck. I can't wait for Playstation 5 to finally show up." Honestly, at this point, I see no rational reason why a "Playstation 5" should even exist. We are living in the promised land. Of course, I've been saying that since the days of the Sega Dreamcast, so maybe I'm just easily impressed.

Ni no Kuni 2 will be available in just four weeks, kids. Start saving your quarters.

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Mimi's Delivery Dash: The Unofficial Studio Ghibli Videogame

Now this is just too cool for words. Ghibli Freaks of all ages have been screaming, pleading, begging for years to have videogames based on their beloved movies. Now a small team of indie developers have delivered the goods.* And it's awesome.

Mimi's Delivery Rush is a loving tribute to Hayao Miyazaki's classic 1989 movie Kiki's Delivery Service, with names changed to protect the penniless. In this game, you play "Mimi" (wink, wink) as she flies around town on delivery runs. I am partially reminded of all the great Castlevania games over the years, but I'm also reminded of Sega's Crazy Taxi, one of the all-time great quarter munchers.

The graphics are presented in a classic 16-bit side-scrolling platforming style, and everything looks terrific. There's a lot of color and detail, and the software team wisely avoided the popular trend of making "retro" graphics that are massively over-pixelated. This is much closer to how videogames looked a quarter century ago, and it looks as charming and inviting today.

This videogame was created for Movie Game Jam 2018. If you click the Mimi link above you will visit the team's website where you can cast your vote for this little gem. A number of prizes will go to the winners, but these sort of things are created purely for love. It's a thrill to be celebrated as part of a community of artists and fans.

Mimi's Delivery Dash is available on Windows (PC). The developers are Nathan Scott (programming, sound and music), Sako (pixel art and additional programming) and Martin Wright (key art and additional pixels). Kudos for all their great work. I would definitely love to see this project expanded into a full-length game, and would gladly pay for the privilege. And while we're at it...can we please have a Sega Dreamcast version? Pretty please with cherry on top?

(*Ugh, did I really sneak a lame-o pun into this article? Oy froynlavin. I blame the GamePro Writers' Guidelines, which instructed me to always employ "heavy alliteration and witty word play.")

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Future Boy Conan: The Videogame (PC Engine CD-ROM)

Hayao Miyazaki fans have been screaming for videogame adaptations of his classic animated movies for years. Thankfully, our prayers have been answered...in Japan, at least. This is Future Boy Conan on the PC Engine CD-ROM, which was released in the West as the Turbografx-16 and TurboDuo. It is based, obviously, on the 1978 Miyazaki television series, which is just about the greatest cartoon series ever made.

Unfortunately, neither the anime series nor the videogame ever made it to our shores, but thanks to the magic of import shops (and internet downloads, cough, ahem), we can enjoy Conan in all his greatness.

I will freely admit that, strictly on the standards of videogame criticism, Future Boy Conan is a somewhat standard, almost rudimentary side-scrolling action-platformer. Its layouts and level designs are nowhere near the genre's greats, and if you're expecting the next Super Mario or Sonic, you'll be greatly disappointed. The game largely exists for players who wish to relive the TV series, by walking from Cut Scene A to Cut Scene B. For these reasons, this game will probably only appeal to fans of the series.

 That said, fans will have a terrific time. The many cut-scenes use the in-game graphics engine to depict its scenes, instead of merely playing compressed MPEG video clips. This means that graphics are extremely clean, sharp and colorfully detailed. The animation is a touch limited but very impressive, and the programmers did an exemplary job in recreating many of our favorite Future Boy Conan scenes, including the title sequence ('70s anime always had the best opening credits).

Hudson Soft made a strong push to promote the PC Engine/Turbografx library on Nintendo's Virtual Console, including a number of CD titles. I do wish that Konami (who now owns the Hudson name and library) would continue the good work and bring us more games, especially the many CD titles that never left Japan. Like the Sega Saturn, the PCE is an endless treasure trove for classic gamers at a time when videogames and anime were practically joined at the hip. Today's most game designers are trying to mimic Hollywood blockbuster movies. They should mimic Miyazaki anime instead.

Just tell me you wouldn't go completely gaga over a videogame version of your favorite Studio Ghibli movie just like this one. Indie developers, assemble!

I previously wrote a post about this game way back in 2010, but only shared a few screenshots. Now we can watch an extended gameplay video that really shows you the guts of this wonderful little gem.

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Download My Ebooks For FREE on Amazon

Update: The free ebook promotion has ended, but the prices are now only 99 cents. Please pick up a copy. You can also purchase a paperback for $19.99, which is the ideal format for these great books.

Good news, everybody! My ebooks are FREE on Amazon from now until Sunday, December 10. Please download a copy of each and leave a reader review.

Zen Arcade: Classic Video Game Reviews features 140 classic video game reviews for NES, Super NES, Nintendo 64, Genesis, NEC Turbografx and Neo-Geo. Do you love retro games? Did you score that awesome Super NES Mini? Here's your guide. You've played the games, now read the book.

Pop Life features essays and stories on movies & television, music & audio, classic & modern video games, and politics & life. Oh, and there are a number of chapters on Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Ghibli and anime. This book is awesome. It's funny and grouchy and feels like a classic rock double album.

Greatest Hits: An Anthology in Four Volumes is an anthology of stories, reviews and essays on pop culture and life. Read 26 chapters about Studio Ghibli. Read 20 chapters about the greatest video games ever made. Read about vinyl records and cool albums and great movies you shouldn't miss.

Remember, kids: the sooner you download my books, the sooner I'll get off your case and go back to posting Totoro pictures. I think that's a pretty fair bargain, don't you?

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Studio Ghibli Mii Characters

Nintendo created Mii Characters are player avatars for their home video game systems. They first appeared on the Wii in 2006 and continue to this day. Players can mix and match "Miis" and trade them with family and friends, and there options for creating characters is virtually limitless.

The Mii Characters fan website has been around almost since the very beginning, and they continue to post their creations and allow visitors to rate them (Nintendo once had an excellent Wii Channel called "Check Mii Out" that is, sadly, no longer available). And wouldn't you know it, there are some Studio Ghibli characters to check out.

At the present time, there aren't very many Ghibli Miis out there. I've had No-Face in my collection for years, which was fairly common. Hayao Miyazaki is new, as is Porco Rosso and Totoro, which is especially inspired. Great jaerb!

I really do wish I could download these to my Wii system, but as I've said, Check Mii Out was closed down by Nintendo, who have a notorious habit of killing successful ideas while endlessly repackaging and reselling the less successful ones (Pikmin, 3D Mario versus 2D Mario). I really don't understand their logic sometimes.

Oh, well. Enjoy these Ghibli Miis, and good luck recreating them for your Nintendo consoles.

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Bocanada: A Journal of Pop Culture and the Arts - The New E-Zine From Ghibli Blog

Have you downloaded your free e-zine yet?

Many years ago (longer than I care to admit), I created zines to nourish my love of writing and popular culture. I wrote about Star Trek and science-fiction, video games, music, art, and the ups and downs of daily life. They were created on simple desktop publishing software, word processors, and an assortment of clip art and marker pens. It was very low-tech, but highly enjoyable. I even managed to score some freelance writing work at GamePro, which was tremendous fun

Ever since then, I wanted to return to zines. I even had recurring dreams about finding an old computer with long-forgotten websites that were still active, and communicating with old friends. 21 years later, while working on my multiple book projects, I thought it would be fun to finally take the plunge again and create a zine that I could share with my readers and fans. And so Bocanada Issue 1 was born.

Bocanada: A Journal of Pop Culture and the Arts. That long-winded title means, simply, that I get to write about whatever the heck I want, but mostly aimed in the same direction as my writings on Ghibli Blog and the new books: Zen Arcade, Pop Life and Greatest Hits.

For Ghibli Freaks, this issue includes essays on Kiki's Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke and My Neighbors the Yamada. For classic and retro video game fans, there are reviews of Altered Beast (Genesis), Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis), Bonk's Adventure (TG-16), Mega Man (NES), and Street Fighter 2 Turbo (Super NES). For music lovers, we have articles on Miles Davis' 1974 jazz-fusion album Get Up With It and Sony's PS-X75 Biotracer Turntable. Finally, we have an art gallery of zine-worthy graffiti works created by me back in 2002.

The cover image is another one of my artworks, a 2005 digital painting created entirely on computer. The title is an homage to Gustavo Cerati's 1999 album, a glorious mashup of trip-hop (remember that?), Radiohead's Kid-A and The Beatles. The pages are "half-size," meaning that they are standard 8.5" x 11" pages folded in half. The zine is 48 pages in total, which matches the output of my old zines perfectly (they were 245 pages at standard size).

Bocanada was created for both physical and digital formats. I find the half-size format works perfectly for tablets and even smartphones. The pages are very readable and neatly designed without becoming too cluttered or dense. I created everything on Scribus, a freeware tool, which I suppose would disqualify me in the eyes of many zine publishers -- it's not a "real zine" unless everything is created on a typewriter, scissors and markers. Whatever.

Bocanada is available as a "perma-free" download, meaning the digital version will always be free. All you have to do is join my mailing list. In addition to receiving the zine, you will also receive regular email newsletters that feature the latest news and developments from DT Media (my indie publishing label) and Ghibli Blog, including the new books!

When is Bocanada Issue 2 coming? Soon. I'm still very busy with releasing the books, assembling the new DT Media website, and doing the usual promotional work (translation: hassling everyone with review copies and appearance requests). If we can assemble and publish the second issue in time for Thanksgiving, I'd be thrilled.

As always, thank you very much for your continued support of Ghibli Blog.

P.S. I keep mentioning the new books: Zen Arcade, Pop Life and Greatest Hits. Well, the books are finished and ready to roll out! As for release date, availability and price...join my mailing list and I'll share all the answers in my next newsletter.

Update (10/4 8:23pm): Bocanada now has a new cover design! I like it a lot, and hope you will, too.

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Future Boy Conan: The Playstation 2 Video Game

Future Boy Conan is the 1978 NHK anime series directed by Hayao Miyazaki, and is a thrilling combination of adventure, romance and comedy, with strong doses of political and environmental themes that would become icons of the Studio Ghibli era. It's a fantastic show and might possibly be the director's greatest work in animation.

And here is the one thing Ghibli Freaks everywhere have begged and pleaded for years: a Miyazaki video game! D3, a software publisher dedicated largely to cartoon-videogame tie-ins, brought Future Boy Conan to the Playstation 2 in Japan.

If you're familiar with the TV series, then you'll love this game, which recreates the entire series from start to finish. Playing as Conan, you explore fully three-dimensional environments, fulfilling mission requirements, searching for objects, meeting characters, and beating up bad guys. In other words, you get to do pretty much everything you saw on the show.

D3 recreates the world of Future Boy Conan with an almost obsessive attention to detail. You can tell the programmers and designers were true fans and not just cashing in a paycheck. Animations are supremely fluid and aim to capture the stylings of the show. I especially enjoyed watching Conan running recklessly, just like he does in a dozen TV episodes.

The graphics are rendered in a style called "cel shading," in which 3D polygon models are layered with a thick black outline that mimics that look of 2D cartoon drawings. It became famous in Sega's Jet Set Radio (or Jet Grind Radio in the US), but the technique was pioneered previously in Wacky Races and Fear Effect on Dreamcast and Playstation 1, respectively. You may also recognize this style with Ni No Kuni, which was jointly produced with Studio Ghibli (the sequel uses many of the same animators, even though the studio was on hiatus at the time).

Despite my best investigations, I could not find an English-language patch for PS2 Conan. It was released exclusively in Japan and features a fair amount of text. You may need to consult a FAQ guide for assistance. Physical copies can be found on Ebay for $34.00 - $75.00, but this appears to be a slightly obscure release.

Here are a couple gameplay videos to show off Future Boy Conan. Now give us more Miyazaki videogames! And somebody release this series in the States!

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Video: Heidi Meets Super Mario Kart

This Heidi-meets-Super-Mario-Kart video never gets old. It always leaves me with a big, silly grin. Why can't somebody make a real video game like this? I'd pay good money to play. Wouldn't you? Of course, you would.

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