Japan Gaming Guide

Videogame legend Shigeru Miyamoto will be immortalised as a 250 foot copper-bronze statue. The statue will be constructed next to the runway at Tokyo’s Narita Airport at a cost of 14 billion yen.

Nintendo are in a strong financial position after the runaway success of the Wii and DS. With construction prices at rock bottom due to the global recession and runaway inflation threatening to devalue cash assets, it seems the perfect time for a large scale mega-project such as this one.

Over 35 million passengers use Narita Airport every year, and the statue of Miyamoto will be there to welcome them to Japan. If just half of them are inspired to buy a Nintendo console the statue will pay for itself over time. Nintendo are reportedly also keen to address some of the negative publicity arising from their alleged failure to reward Miyamoto financially for his achievements.

Early plans to have aircraft fly through Miyamoto’s legs were rejected on safety grounds, however the back of Miyamoto’s left palm will include a helipad, and the right will feature a platform for bungee jumpers. Pilots are reportedly very happy with the plans, which will make the airport easy to spot from a distance. The outstretched arms of the statue will line up with the ideal approach to the main runway, assisting pilots further.

The 2nd stage of the Pokemon World Championships took place a couple of days ago, Famitsu have a load of pics.

[Read]

A great month for RPG fans, with several big titles and a couple of novelties. No question about game of the month: the intoxication Zelda:Majora’s Mask is an astonishing game, and worth checking out whether you’re a retro fan or not. If you’ve ever wondered why people are disappointed with games as good as Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, this is one of the reasons.

Elsewhere there’s an early version of Ninja Gaiden and a very overpriced looking Space Invaders.

Famicom (500 points)

Akumajou Densetsu/Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse

Super Famicom (800 points)

Der Langrisser
Hoshi no Kabi 3/Kirby’s Dream Land 3

Nintendo 64 (1200 points)

Zelda: Majora’s Mask

Master System (600 points)

Phantasy Star

PC Engine (600 points)

Ninja Ryukenden/Ninja Gaiden

Arcade

Genpei Toma Den/The Genji and the Heike Clans (800 points)
Space Invaders (500 points)

Uniqlo have fulfilled our wildest geek dreams by launching a range of game based T-Shirts. T’s based on Pac-Man, Bomberman, Dig Dug, Arkanoid, Ape Escape, Mappy and Resident Evil are already out. More will be added over the next few months, including Ridge Racer, Street Fighter and Sonic the Hedgehog based designs. The range is pretty large, there’s something for everyone in there.

[Read]

Square Enix is updating Lord of Vermilion this week. The arcade trading-card RPG will see new guest characters added to its roster.

[Read]

When planning a gaming pilgrimage to Japan it’s essential to make sure your chopstick skills are up to scratch. What finer way to do that than with the Manner Beans Chopstick set. Completely inedible beans mean you won’t be put off by your nagging hunger, although maybe that will reduce your motivation. The beans come in four types and need a range of techniques to pick up.

[Read, via Japan Sugoi]

Here’s this month’s line up:

Famicom (500 points)

Formation Z
Double Dragon

Super Famicom (800 points)

Tactics Ogre

Master System (500 points)

Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars

Megadrive

Galaxy Force II (600 points)
Dragon Slayer: Legend of Heroes (700 points)

PC Engine

L-Dis (800 points)
Dai Makaimura/Ghouls ‘n Ghosts (800 points)
Winning Shot (600 points)
Super Darius 2 (800 points)
Wallaby!! Rabbit land kangaroo race (600 points)

The latest installment of the Star Ocean series is coming out on February 19th. Star Ocean: The Last Hope is set in the year 2087, several centuries before the original game – and just after the third world war of the series’ mythology. With the invention of warp technology, humanity is taking its first steps towards exploring the universe.

As an added bonus, those that pre-order the Japanese version of the game will get a free Soundtrack CD, packed with music from the games. The Soundtrack disc contains nine tracks, including five voted for by fans, two selections from series composer Motoi Sakuraba, and one each from producer Yoshiharu Gotanda and tri-ace president Yoshinori Yamagishi.

We don’t expect the Japanese release to include English support, so brush up on those Kanji if you’re thinking of ordering. Or buy it twice and use one as a luxury coaster.

[Read, via Famitsu]

Here’s a great piece of Super Mario Japanese black theatre:

[Geekologie, via Xorsyst]

Last time it was Tetris Sumo in Mexico – this time it’s Human Tetris from Japan. Check out the videos here.