So, it’s time to start the investigation! It’s the perfect time for DS and 3DS owners to get into the series, if they haven’t already. Also, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Wii owners can get in on the fun since many of the games received iOS or WiiWare ports.

Objection! How did this get started?

Gyakuten Saiban has been a thing in Japan since 2001, when the first game was released on the Game Boy Advance. Apparently, Capcom didn’t have a lot of faith in gamers and their willingness to accept a comedic adventure game about a defense attorney. It’s probably for the best, as when the 2005 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney port was released, it contained the original four cases and an all new fifth case with special DS features. That’s when Capcom realized it had a hit series on its hands, and went on to port the original game to Windows PCs in Japan, and to the Wii and iOS in Japan and North America.

Its success also ensured the release of the next three games outside of Japan. We still missed out on GBA released, but DS and WiiWare versions of Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice for All and Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials & Tribulations both appeared. Plus, the first DS exclusive game Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney was released worldwide without any hesitation.

All of the main games proceed in the same way. There are typically four or five cases. First, there’s an investigation phase where the defense attorney, Phoenix Wright in the first three games and Apollo Justice in the fourth, searches the crime scene, talks to witnesses and meets the client. Here’s when people collect evidence for trial and piece together how a murder happened with the help of an assistant, in Phoenix’s case Maya Fey and sometimes Pearl Fay help. Apollo has Trucy Wright by his side. The second part of each case is the trial phase, where players have to help their lawyer defend the client by picking holes in the testimony of the witnesses by showing their lies and presenting evidence so the true murderer can be revealed.

Now that you’re interested, there’s a little bit of a problem. You may have trouble finding some of the Ace Attorney DS games. The original Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is fairly easy to find, and you shouldn’t have to look too hard for Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. However, Ace Attorney: Justice for All and Ace Attorney: Trials & Tribulations may be a bit more difficult to find, and odds are you’ll have to pay more than usual for a new copy. If you own a Wii, you’ll have no problem as first three games covering Phoenix’s adventures are always just a click away on the Wii Shop Channel. The same goes for the iOS version of the original game.

As for the future, Phoenix Wright has a lot of things planned. A 3DS mashup game by the name of Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney is in development and Gyakuten Saiban 5 has just been announced. Gyakuten Saiban 123HD has just been released on iTunes in Japan too, and it is a HD remaster of the first three Ace Attorney games.

Hold it! So just how popular is Ace Attorney?

It’s incredibly popular worldwide, though its fame started in Japan. The result is a huge number of spin-offs and merchandise for fans to enjoy. Fortunately, people don’t necessarily have to import to enjoy all of it. Some of the Ace Attorney tie-ins were released worldwide, among them the forthcoming Gyakuten Saiban movie. The most prominent releases are of the various manga volumes. The Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney manga is being localized, and so were the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Official Casebooks, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Edgeworth Files and the Miles Edgeworth: Ace Attorney Investigations manga is in the process of being translated and will be released in North America this year.

Speaking of Ace Attorney Investigations, the popularity of the main series and its primary antagonist, Miles Edgeworth, lead to the prosecutor getting his own series. Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth received a worldwide release and involved more investigating and no courtroom drama. Instead, Edgeworth finds the suspect outside the courtroom at the crime scenes to assist with arrests. You may have to shop around to find a copy, as it’s gotten rather rare as of late. Sadly, despite the original being a fantastic game, Capcom decided not to take a chance on Gyakuten Kenji 2, making the sequel a Japan-exclusive. A fan translation is currently in progress to create an unofficial English patch.

However, some Ace Attorney extras can only be enjoyed if you’re in Japan or willing to import. In particular, the musical performances and concerts. Actually, even if you visit Japan now you probably won’t catch the musical. Gyakiten Saiban: Yomigaeru Shinjitsu and its sequel were only performed by the all-female Takarazuka Revue troupe in 2009. At least you can enjoy the music from the series. Aside from the official soundtracks for each game, Capcom has also released the Gyakuten Saiban Orchestra Album and Gyakuten Saiban Jazz Album, offering new arrangements of songs from the game. Supposedly they’ll be released outside Japan, but they haven’t appeared yet. You could also check online for Gyakuten Saiban Tokubetsu Houtei 2008, an official recording of a live concert of Ace Attorney music.

You may want to also try plugging Gyakuten Saiban into the search boxes at your favorite online import shops. You never know, you may find phone straps, bags, folders or other Ace Attorney merchandise.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables reviews Mother 3.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables talked about Marvelous Entertainment.

Follow Jenni on Twitter for more import game updates and general fangirl enthusiasm!

Title: Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
Price: $39.99
System(s): 3DS (Also on Wii)
Release Date: February 14, 2012
Publisher (Developer): Sega (Sega)
ESRB Rating: “Everyone” for Cartoon Violence
Pros: There are 57 events and 20 characters grouped into Heroes, Tricksters, Wild Ones, Girls and Challengers categories. The story mode works well. There’s local single cart and multicart multiplayer. You can collect badges and titles to put next to your name by competing. There are online leaderboards.You can look at medals you’ve earned. You can change the AI difficulty level. Can make and trade event medleys with friends.
Cons: No “Dream Events.” Some of the included events are rather silly, like grabbing a bottle of water at the right time. Motion controls are pretty terrible. No online multiplayer. Have to manually upload all online leaderboard scores one at a time.
Overall Score: One thumb up and one thumb sideways, 87/100, B+, * * * 1/2 out of 5

Sega went to the trouble to make not only Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, but also Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. Surely you knew Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games was coming. The series has been an unexpected success.

Though, maybe that success isn’t all that surprising. True, the mascots alone and International Olympic Committee support help, but perhaps the real reason for the success is that the Mario & Sonic at the Olumpic Games series keeps getting better and better. While Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games isn’t perfect, it’s the best entry in the series I’ve played so far.

This London fog is a lot meaner than it used to be.

The London 2012 Olympics are coming up and Mario, Sonic and all their friends have been invited to compete. Take note of the word “friends” there. Not everyone was invited. While the various heroes and occasional antiheroes of the Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog world are all getting together to show their athletic prowess, Dr. Eggman and Bowser aren’t on the guest list.

Bowser and Dr. Eggman are not pleased.

To get even, they have decided to ruin the London 2012 Olympics for everyone. Machines generating incredibly thick, colored fog have been placed at major locations throughout London. That would be bad enough, since low visibility would mean no events, but this fog also generates dopplegangers of the main characters who are challenging legitimate participants to events to keep them away from the fog machines.

So, to save the Olympics, Mario, Sonic and all their associates must join forces and compete against dopplegangers and famous villains from the Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog series.

Tons of events, but pray you get assigned one without motion controls.

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games has a remarkable event list. There are 57 different mini-game events to compete in, scattered across 11 different categories. If you hover over one in the single or multiplayer modes, you can see a “game level” difficulty ranking as well as a brief description, medals earned so far and the player’s personal best record for that event. It also tells you which group of four characters you’ll have to choose from – Heroes, Challengers, Girls, Tricksters or Wild Ones. Most importantly, all of these events are immediately unlocked. You don’t have to complete the Story Mode to unlock them. You can instantly start playing a single Highlight event or go through custom Event Medleys.

Each event begins in the same manner. Players get a quick description of what needs to be done to win the event. Some events, like 100m Backstroke, 20km Race Walk or Floor Gymnastics, require players to tap or draw on the touch screen. Others, like 3000m Steeplechase, 25m Rapid Fire Pistol or Judo, require certain buttons to be pushed. Then, there are the events with motion controls. These are hit or miss and usually succeed or fail miserably based on how much much the event relies on moving the 3DS. BMX, for example, is an event that uses buttons, the circle pad and motion controls to play but still manages to be fun. The same can be said with Show Jumping, which gives players the opportunity to avoid motion controls entirely by pressing A to jump instead. Events that focus on motion controls, like Rowing: Quadruple Sculls, Basketball, Hammer Throw and Long Jump could easily bring on system-throwing frustration. Hey, maybe then I’d finally get the distance I needed in the Hammer Throw!

Fortunately, it’s easy to avoid more distasteful events so long as you stick to the Olympic Single or Multiplayer Modes. It’s only when you head into Story Mode that you’re trapped. To complete each episode in the story and make Dr. Eggman and Bowser’s fog disappear, you have to win Challenges. This means you either have to complete one single, pre-made medley of events or pick and choose from an assortment of events or medleys to move forward. I was stuck on Tricksters Episode 2: Wario’s Scheme for two days because the event list for that challenge included Long Jump, Handball and 25m Rapid Fire Pistol, three events I couldn’t seem to master. So while the story is good, it’s easy to occasionally find yourself stumped because you came up against troublesome events. Which means you’ll find yourself back at the main menu, going to the Olympics Mode so you can play whatever you want.

Regretably, there’s no online multiplayer in Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Considering how well it’s worked for games like Mario Kart 7 and Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition, it’s disappointing. However, all the events on their own are pretty short so I suppose I can see Sega’s reasoning for it. Fortunately, it does offer local multiplayer. What makes it even better is that there is actually a 3DS Download Play option where up to four players can compete together using only one cartridge. I didn’t get the opportunity to test out the multi-cart multiplayer, but the single cart multiplayer worked quite well with very little lag.

I also feel I have to call out the online leaderboard. It’s a tedious and practically pointless addition to Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Each of your scores must be uploaded separately. Out of the events, 23 have online leaderboards. It takes between one and two minutes to upload scores to the online ranking and then download the most current scores. That’s if you’re lucky, as quite a few times when I attempted to upload, I found myself getting a connection error. No extra features are unlocked for uploading scores from what I could see, so it’s basically an exercise in futility for pointless bragging rights. Really, no one’s going to care that I had a time of 1:17:43.786 with Tails in the 20km Race Walk event and took sixth place in the Top Ranking as of February 9, 2012 because of it.

A quick look at the London Olympics with Mario, Sonic and friends.

As a mini-game collection, Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games gets a lot of things right. It has 57 different events in which to compete and you don’t have to unlock any of them. There are 20 different playable characters. There are multiple multiplayer options. There’s even a Story Mode that’s actually entertaining and challenging. It’s only sin is that of tacked-on motion controls. While some minor or optional motion controls are bearable in a portable game, the events falter when they depend too much on precise movements. As long as you don’t mind skipping over the handful of games that make flail around like you’re avoiding a fleet of bees, you’ll find Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games a pleasant addition to your 3DS game library.

Site [Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games]

In case you’re feeling a bit brain-wiped by all this pressure, I’m here to help. Here are six ways you could express yourself, and two of them are even free!

• Get your Mass Effect 3 on: The demo for Mass Effect 3 is going to be released on Valentine’s Day. You can stay in together and experience a few missions of the new adventure together. Or, if you’re in a long distance relationship, you can go through the multiplayer portion of the demo and help the one you love fight the Reapers.
• Celebrate the debut of otome in America: Aksys is releasing the very first English language translation of an otome (girl’s dating game) in North America on Valentine’s Day! Grab a copy of Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom (PSP) and help her choose her own romantic adventure. The standard version is $29.99 and the collector’s edition, which also includes a CD soundtrack and artbook, is $39.99.
• Take an arrow in the heart: ThinkGeek has just started selling Skyrim-inspired shirts for men and women that say, “I used to be a player, then I took an arrow in the heart.” Aww! This would make a great gift for a gamer you love. The men’s shirt costs between $16.99-$18.99, depending on size, while the women’s shirt is $19.99.
• Did somebody say cake?: The cake may have been an unobtainable tease in Portal, but it doesn’t have to be in your loved ones life. Get yourself a square cake pan, some cake mix, grey and pink frosting and bake a Companion Cube shaped cake for the one you love. It will be delicious and moist. Plus, you’ll probably get to have a piece of it too!
• Nibble on some candied zombie brains together: I know, there’s already one ThinkGeek item on the list, but the Chocolate Zombie Head Bon Bons with Cherry Brains were too good to pass up. For $9.99 you get a box of six dark-chocolate bon bons shaped like zombie heads. Inside are cherry brains. Some of the bon bons even have breaks in them so you can see the “brains” oozing out. Yum!
• Get married… virtually: Hop onto your favorite MMO with a marriage system in place and show the one you love that, at the very least, your avatars will be together forever. It’s a nice gesture, might help get your non-MMO playing significant other into the game so you have something else to enjoy together and means you’ll probably get some kind of stat bonuses for your character!

Image Source: Chocolate Zombie Head Bon Bon picture taken from ThinkGeek

Title: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
Price: $59.99
System(s): *PS3, Xbox 360, Windows
Release Date: February 7, 2012
Publisher (Developer): EA (38 Studios and Big Huge Games)
ESRB Rating: “Mature” for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence and Suggestive Themes
Pros: Lots of assorted quests and tasks, as well as multiple factions to join. Four races to choose from. Can pick and choose which finesse, might and sorcery skills you want to learn. Can pay fateweavers to reset all skill and ability points. Can create equipment, potions and gems. Has a unique look and good voice acting. Can fast travel to visited locations. You have to actually think while fighting and not button-mash. Multiple difficulty levels. Loading screens only come up when entering/leavingbuildings/dungeons. You can eventually own houses. Minor crafting items don’t count towards backpack inventory.
Cons: There are quite a few fetch quests, some of which have middle steps that can be skipped if you inadvertently grab items early. It doesn’t seem like some non-persuasion dialogue choices have too much impact on the story. It did freeze on me three times while playing, though it hasn’t happened since the patch released on Saturday. No physical instruction book. Four times the game glitched where it wouldn’t allow me to examine items with the X button after random attacks, even though no hostile enemies were around. (I had to save and reload to fix the issue.) Backpack items are had to find.
Overall Score: One thumb up and one thumb sideways, 88/100, B+, * * * 1/2 out of 5

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning has an impressive pedigree. Ken Rolston designed it, R.A. Salvatore helped write it, Todd McFarlane designed characters for it and Grant Kirkhope handled its soundtrack. Still, it wasn’t until I played the demo, to unlock Mass Effect 3 extras of course, that I actually thought it’d be something I’d want to play. Fortunately a review copy showed up a short while after and I was able to experience the Faelands firsthand. Getting all of those big names on board made a difference, as 38 Studios and Big Huge Games’ endeavor is smooth, beautiful and a joy to play.

Revived with unlimited potential

The player’s hero or heroine in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning starts off dead, but gets better.

That’s because this particular avatar was a test subject in a research experiment. Some gnomes were working on a Fomorous Hugues’ Well of Souls, in the hopes of creating soldiers equipped to fight the immortal Tuatha Deohn. Only one person was actually able to return to the living before the Tuatha were sent to destroy the well and its creators. Fortunately, this hero woke up “special.”

As Fateweaver named Agarth explains shortly after the well is destroyed, the sole survivor is something new. While all other people in the world are bound by the tapestry (fate), the hero isn’t. Instead, the hero can rewrite fate and alter the course of destiny. Players then get to set off on both big and little adventures around the Faelands on the way to a grand confrontation with the Tuatha and their leader, Gadflow. Granted, the player’s character’s actions don’t always have a huge effect on the Faelands, but still. The avatar is making a difference just by existing.

Players have ultimate control over their gameplay experience and their character’s abilities.

Let me start off by saying that Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning could make for a fantastic beginner action-RPG as well as being something that will keep advanced players busy and happy for months. It isn’t that the game is extraordinarily easy, though there is a Casual difficult level, but that it does a good job of introducing a lot of complicated concepts and ideas in a way that’s easy for any player to understand. The tutorial is non-invasive, but does come up to familiarize players with all new concepts when they appear. The skill and destiny leveling advancement is clearly laid out and people can reassign points if they wish and the various crafting methods are all quite intuitive. Probably the most noticeable point is that it provides an open world experience while also making it easy for people to see where they could go next and allowing fast travel, so people don’t get flustered or feel overwhelmed by all of the possible tasks to complete and locations to visit. Plus, the familiar feel would help players grow accustomed to the pace and design of other western RPGs, since it feels so similar to other beloved games.

Of course, this means that Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning can also come across as quite a borrower. Not that it’s a bad thing. In this case, it’s more like it’s reminiscent of other games rather than stealing ideas, since in most cases it’s improving on the games to which its similar. The atmosphere and ambiance may remind you of Folklore, the battling of Fable or a faster-pace game like Devil May Cry, the skill leveling is vaguely similar to Dragon Age 2 and the open world experience is akin to that found in The Elder Scrolls or Fallout. In each case except the last, however, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is just better. The world is more detailed than Folklore‘s, combat’s usually smoother than Fable‘s and the skill leveling offers more choice than Dragon Age 2. While it tries to be as open as Bethesda RPGs, it falls a bit short as the your character can’t jump and really explore every inch of the Faelands. That, and the decisions made in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning don’t seem to carry as much weight as ones in Bethesda or even BioWare RPGs. Villages you’ve “wronged” will forgive you after a few hours and most choices you make during quests are little to no consequence on your character’s future from what I’ve seen.

Here’s how a basic quest line will go in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. The player’s hero or heroine will find someone with an exclamation point over his or her head in either the field or a town. Players talk to the person and get a quest. Usually it’ll involve fighting something or getting something/some. You go to the location marked on the map, fight the monsters that spawn or maybe talk a bit with some people there, then return to the person who provided the quest. Sometimes, you’ll be able to use a little persuasion to keep an item found or earn an extra reward, but for the most part you’ll report back and get a reward. It’s your typical, RPG staple quest. Fortunately, you can do more than one at once without switching your primary quest. Objectives for your main quest appear on the map marked by yellow circles, while objectives for other available quests have white circle markers. So you can stop by hotspots for other quests while you’re in the area. It’s also important to note that not all quests are fetch quests or minor errands. Some require talking to people to determine what should or did happen, require theft or assassination or even lead to a boss fight.

The fighting is also quite thoughtful and delightful. Battles feel more like something from a beat’em up than an action RPG, with the square button assigned to a primary weapon, the triangle to a secondary weapon, X to a rolling dash and R1 to a shield. Both primary and secondary weapons can initiate combos if you keep button mashing or unleash charged attacks if you hold down their respective buttons. You can also map useable items to a sub-menu you can bring up by pressing the R2 button and four skills can be mapped to an abilities menu brought up by holding down L1. Since all enemies have strengths and weaknesses and stronger ones have an assortment of attacks available, it means you’ll have to switch up tactics and actually put together a custom battle style if you want to survive. Not only that, but you earn fate points for attacking with different methods. Press L1 and R1 when the gauge is full to slow down time and deal extra damage to all enemies. Finish one off while still in this mode and you can button mash your way to extra experience.

I came to relish that experience boost, as it always brought me one step closer to changing my character’s destiny. The customization options are limitless. After leveling up one skill point and three ability points are awarded. The skill point could be put towards talents like persuasion, lockpicking, sagecraft or blacksmithing, making your character more formidable and capable of completing certain actions. The ability points determine the hero’s combat abilities and are broken down into might (warrior), finesse (rogue) or sorcery (mage). Investing skill points influence how proficient a hero is with weapons, what passive abilities can be tapped into and what special attacks can be unleashed. Invest enough points into each category and you can unlock a new Destiny, which is essentially a class. Destinies can be swapped at any time, provided you’ve already unlocked it, and provide bonuses to attack or skills, boost regeneration abilities, increase skill damage or other lovely things that make your character stronger. If you get tired of your current control scheme, just find a Fateweaver and pay to reset and get all those spent skill and ability points back.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is much better than you’d think it’d be.

I didn’t expect to enjoy Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning as much as I did. I figured it was just another generic, open-world, action RPG and I’d be sending off another character to do good works and save the world. After playing for over 30 hours, I realize it is much more than that. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is a hauntingly beautiful game with fantastic battles and tons of content. There’s so much to do here in the Faelands that you won’t even miss out if you buy the game used and don’t get the “online pass” quests.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is also a good test for people. If you’ve always been curious about open-world RPGs like Fable or The Elder Scrolls, this is a good starting point. It’s well organized, easy to play, allows you to experiment with different playstyles and also has an extraordinary level of content. However, it’s made more accessible with a more streamlined and easier to understand blacksmithing and alchemy system, not to mention the ability to make your character a blank slate whenever you visit your local Fateweaver.

Site [Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning]

Title: Super Mario 3D Land
Price: $39.99
System(s): 3DS
Release Date: November 13, 2011
Publisher (Developer): Nintendo (Nintendo EAD)
ESRB Rating: “Everyone” for Mild Cartoon Violence
Pros: Eight different worlds, plus eight secret worlds. You can eventually play as Luigi. There are mushroom, fire flower, Tanooki suit, boomerang, propeller boxes and statue Tanooki suits. If you die five times in a level, you get an Invincibility Leaf to make it easier. If you die 10 times in a level, you get a P-Wing to bypass the level. Levels get progressively harder. 3D effects look great and actually make the game easier to play.
Cons: Quite short, compared to other Mario games. Have to find lots of coins to unlock certain levels and Secret World levels.
Overall Score: Two thumbs up, 95/100, A, * * * * 1/2 out of 5

When the 3DS first launched, there wasn’t a clear system seller game among the debut titles. Sure, Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition and Nintendogs + Cats were nice, but they didn’t have universal drawing power. It wasn’t until 2011 was ending that the major 3DS players showed up and Super Mario 3D Land was among them.

While many may have worried that Super Mario 3D Land was a quick release, capitalizing on the Super Mario name and popularity, the game thankfully proved it was quite the opposite. Super Mario 3D Land is clearly a labor of love and the kind of game people should buy a 3DS to play.

Princess Peach is gone and the Tanooki Tree is bare!

I’m sure you’ve heard of Princess Peach. Blond, pink dress, is supposed to rule the Mushroom Kingdom but she gets kidnapped a lot so I’m sure Toad councelors do most of the work. Speaking of which, get your gear together because it happened again.

Bowser caused a storm to hit the Mushroom Kingdom, blowing all of the leaves off of the Tail Tree. The Tail Tree is the source of all of the Super Leaves. Peach goes out to investigate the now barren tree the next morning and I don’t think I have to tell you what happens next. Mario and three Toads discover she’s gone sometime during the day and then head out after her to rescue her.

Super Mario 3D Land is the ensuing tale of Mario’s rescue attempt as he goes through eight worlds trying to find Bowser and save Princess Peach. And then go through an additional eight worlds to save Luigi and Princess Peach again.

This is how 3D is supposed to be done!

I want to start off by saying that Super Mario 3D Land is one of those games that has to be played with the 3D effect turned on. There’s no debate. It looks better, is more comfortable and just makes the whole game much easier to play. That said, it’s the first 3DS game where I find I actually am bothering with the 3D effect. Nintendo did a fantastic job of making the world vibrant and alive, without going overboard. When 3D is used, it’s a subtle way to provide a challenge in reaching Star Medals or to assist in determining depth of an area so you can time a precise jump. It’s just wonderful and I can only hope other developers will look to this as an example of how 3DS platformers should be done.

Super Mario 3D Land also succeeds because it draws on some of the best, past Super Mario games for inspiration. There are elements from Super Mario 3, Super Mario 64 and New Super Mario Brothers in play and they all mesh together wonderfully. The level design is perfect, with hidden areas liberally spread throughout worlds and each one having perfectly placed midway markers. There are switches, moving platforms, an assortment of various enemies, ghost houses, underwater levels, underground levels, plenty of spike traps and quite a few daring jumps. Trust me when I say you’ll need to rely on muscle memory for quite a few levels, especially the airship, castle and Special World areas.

The only thing people may pick up on while playing is that some levels don’t feel very long. While some levels may seem short, I’d argue that they’re actually the perfect length. This is a portable game, after all. Some areas that do require more exploration do have clocks that can be grabbed to extend the time limit. I also think that some of the shorter levels are actually longer than you’d realize, just the way they’re organized and laid out allows people to find quicker routes if they’d like.

Actually, length can come up quite often when playing Super Mario 3D Land. An initial runthrough of Super Mario 3D Land can be quite brief, depending on the player’s skill level. I beat the first eight worlds in about four and a half hours and I was taking my time for the first half of the game, trying to find as many Star Medals as possible. Don’t let that bother you. After the first eight main worlds are completed, an additional eight special worlds are unlocked. They’re significantly harder, especially since the boss levels for each world require Star Medals to unlock and the Invincibility Leaves and P-Wings no longer spawn after losing five or ten lives.

Ah, those Star Medals. You’ll start to hate them after a while. As I mentioned, the Special Worlds final levels each require them and you’ll eventually have to go back to older normal and special levels to acquire missed medals if you want to keep playing. While it does provide replay value and an incentive to revisit old worlds, it reaches a point where you want to just have access to all the Special World levels without having to jump through hoops for them. My adventures in the Mushroom Kingdom ended when I realized I needed 200 Star Medals to unlock Special World 6′s airship level and I only had 187. After scrambling to earn Star Medals since the Special World 4 airship, I just couldn’t do it anymore and gave up.

Still, don’t let my lack of patience deter you. To date, I’ve spent 10 hours and one minute playing Super Mario 3D Land, which more than makes up for the $40 I paid for it. It’s a good game, it just happens to get taxing after a while and then you need to take a break to recover.

A great ride… while it lasts.

It may a bit early to say this, but I genuinely believe Super Mario 3D Land is going to be one of those landmark 3DS games. Years from now, when people are talking about the system, they will single out Super Mario 3D Land as a game that anyone, of any age, can enjoy. It’s simply one of the best 3DS games out there and I think it will retain that position of honor in the years to come.

Site [Super Mario 3D Land]

Well, that’s just Marvelous!

The first thing you have to know about Marvelous has one of the best company names ever. I mean, it’s Marvelous Entertainment! You can’t beat that.

Next, you have to know that it’s involved in more than just the video game industry. It produces TV shows, movies, plays and also owns the Artland animation studio and Delfi Sound studio. So while we’re focusing on its gaming presence today, it’s good to know that the company creates lots of good things.

Also, Marvelous Entertainment is primarily a publisher. While it’s true that it has been involved in the development of some games, mainly entries in the Harvest Moon series, it mainly acts as a publisher for other developers’ games. It has worked quite frequently with Imageepoch, Neverland, Hudson Soft, ArtePiazza, Vanillaware and Grasshopper Manufacture. So while you may not see Marvelous’ name on the box of the game you’re playing, there’s still a good chance it had something to do with its creation.

Marvelous Entertainment also does a lot of work outside of Japan. It established Rising Star Games, its European branch, back in 2004 with Bergsala AB. That way, it could have an easier game of getting its games into Europe. It sold its part of Rising Star Games in 2010, though it still works with the company on occasion. Then, in 2005, Marvelous acquired AQ Interactive and turned it into Marvelous Entertainment USA. In addition, it has a co-publishing partnership with the U.S. based XSEED games that started back in 2008. The company also allows other companies, like Natsume and Atlus, to publish its games so a larger audience can enjoy them.

These are Marvelous games.

If there’s one series that is practically synonymous with Marvelous, it’s Harvest Moon. It’s the company’s hallmark series, including the Rune Factory spin-off, and is part of the reason why the company has become as successful as it is. It happened with good reason too. Despite the occasional small bug or glitch, the Harvest Moon and Rune Factory games are mostly solid, well made and entertaining adventures for people who want to play a farming-life sim or take part in an action RPG that occasionally asks you to farm or make friends.

Those aren’t the only games the company is responsible for, as it’s had a number of incredible games released throughout the years. Here are a few in particular that are available in English and deserve some love.

• Avalon Code (DS): The world is ending, and players must catalog everything in a massive book so it can be remade after the apocolypse and everything restored. It is an action RPG and was released in North America in 2008.
• Contact (DS): The player is using the DS to “control” a boy named Terry and make him help a mysterious Professor collect power cells while avoiding CosmoNOT terrorists. It is an action RPG and was released in North America in 2006.
• Fate/Extra (PSP): A young man or woman finds him or herself caught up in the Holy Grail War. Only with the help of a Servant can the new magus survive and perhaps have one wish granted. It is a turn-based RPG and was released in North America in 2011.
• Half-Minute Hero (PSP): Players control a hero, evil lord, princess or knight and get each of them through 30 second adventures to save the world. It has RPG, strategy, action and shooter modes and was released in North America in 2009. It was updated and ported to the Xbox 360 as an XBLA title in 2011.
• Little King’s Story (Wii): Corobo is the newly crowned king of Alpoko and it is up to him to get his followers to build up the kingdom to make it a wonderful place to live. It is a combination life sim and real time strategic RPG and was released in North America in 2009.
• Luminous Arc (DS): People in the Cardinal Kingdom and throughout the world are taught witches are bad, but a young knight named Leon and his friends learn there’s more to the story and the world is in danger. It is a strategic RPG with visual novel elements and was released in North America in 2007.
• Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Wii): Players travel across Japan either as the fugitive, amnesiac ninja Kisuke who’s trying to prove his innocence or as the possessed princess Momohime trying to flee to safety while completing the spirit of the man possessing her. It is an action RPG and was released in North America in 2009.
• No More Heroes (Wii): Travis Touchdown takes an assassination job to pay for a beam katana he bought online, ends up becoming the 11th ranked assassin by the United Assassins Association and has to keep killing and trying to be number 1 or all other wannabe assassins will hunt him down. It is an action RPG and was released in North America in 2008. An updated port was released on the PS3 in 2011.

If you are only going to try a few, then definitely go for Avalon Code, No More Heroes and Contact!

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables looks into Gyakuten Saiban (Ace Attorney).

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables talked about the GP2X, Wiz and Caanoo.

Follow Jenni on Twitter for more import game updates and general fangirl enthusiasm!

Title:Doctor Who the Complete Sixth Series
Price: $79.98
Release Date: November 22, 2011
Format: DVD
Company: BBC Worldwide
Pros: 6 discs, includes every episode from season 6, includes the 2010 Christmas special “A Christmas Carol,” includes Doctor Who Confidential episodes, sketches, brief prequel segments and there are some extra scenes..
Cons: There aren’t as many one-off episodes, there aren’t as many twists as there were in earlier seasons and the overall story arc is always showing up in practically every episode.
Overall Score: Two thumbs up, 95/100, A, * * * * 1/2 out of 5

Doctor Who has always been considered an iconic cult classic, but it’s been gradually edging its way into the mainstream ever since the new series was revived in 2005. The popularity really started rising when David Tennant was announced as the 10th incarnation of the Doctor and now Matt Smith and his 11th incarnation is starting to become a common name among science fiction fans worldwide.

Doctor Who the Complete Sixth Series is the second season where the 11th Doctor is the star and continues a storyline that was hinted at in the fifth season while also finally revealing information about a mysterious character, Dr. River Song, who has been occasionally appearing in the series since season four. While it isn’t a good season for new viewers to jump in, returning fans will be pleased with the closure season six provides and the special features the complete sixth series includes.

“Their core belief is that silence will fall when the question is asked.”

The sixth season of Doctor Who begins rather unexpectedly. Former companions Amy (Karen Gillan), Rory (Arthur Darvill) and River Song (Alex Kingston) all receive an invitation from the Doctor to meet up at Lake Silencio in Utah. Everyone shows up, they have a picnic and it seems like it’s just a happy reunion before heading off on a trip to 1969. The Doctor mentions he’s 1103 at that moment during some friendly banter.

Then the Doctor is killed by someone in an astronaut suit that rises up out of a lake. By killed, I mean really killed. The assassin shoots him once, then shoots him while he’s regenerating so he’s absolutely dead.

Another man then shows up, who also received an invitation. He knows the three of them, but they don’t know him. He says they soon will though, even though this is the last time he’ll see them. He hands them a can of gasoline and Amy, Rory and River Song proceed to throw a Viking funeral for the Doctor.

Mentally exhausted by the events, the three proceed to a dinner, where River realizes the invitations were numbered 1-4, and invite 1 is sitting opened on a table in the diner. Suddenly, the Doctor comes out of the restroom, totally unaware of what happened. He’s a younger version of the Doctor, he’s 903 to be exact, and is very much alive.

That one event sents the tone for the entire season. Amy, Rory, River Song and the viewer knows what’s coming, the Doctor doesn’t and it’s all about finding out who wants him dead and why, while also seeing if it’s possible from preventing that event from ever happening.

Not to mention a whole new enemy known as the Silents, representatives of The Silence religious order, appear. You only remember a Silent while you’re looking at them. If you look away, you completely forget about it. However, any post-hypnotic suggestion planted during the encounter will remain in the person’s head.

“A big flashy lighty thing. That’s what brought me here. Big flashy lighty things have got me written all over them.”

Doctor Who season six proceeds differently than seasons one through five. Each season has an overall arc and big finale, with hints as to what’s coming scattered throughout preceeding one-off or two part, unrelated episodes. Season six is the first that’s pretty much just builds up to the finale. There are a few one-off episodes, like “The Curse of the Black Spot” and “The Doctor’s Wife,” and the two parter “The Rebel Flesh” and “The Almost People” stands well on its own, but this season was far more obvious when it came down to what the big story and reveals would be in the finale. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but people who preferred the more subtle setups found in the 9th and 10th Doctors’ storylines may be disappointed. Instead, the hints at what was going to happen during this sixth season were planted in the fifth season, with constant reminders left that, “Silence will fall.”

Still, Doctor Who fans will still be quite pleased. Once you get invested, the sixth season is very watchable. Matt Smith and the rest of the cast are comfortable with their characters and do a wonderful job of melding drama and humor. Plus, the production values and casting for each episode are very well done. It’s also wonderful to see Alex Kingston, as River Song, so involved this season. Of course, that’s only natural seeing as how season six revealed her entire backstory. In fact, you could almost consider her to be the focus of the entire season.

The thing is, it probably isn’t a good season for a new viewer to join the bandwagon. The season openers for the first through fifth seasons did a good job of setting up the Doctor and companions so anyone watching could start getting a feel for who these people were and enjoy the initial episode for what it was. This was, in part, due to each season starting off either with a new version of the Doctor or with a new companion. Season six, on the other hand, is more of a direct continuation of season five and people are expected to know who who Amy, Rory and River Song are and what the 11th incarnation of the Doctor is already like. No matter how good the ensuing episodes are, and they are all pretty great, new viewers will be left in a cloud of confusion for at least the first two episodes.

Once you get past that and some minor nitpicking, you’ll find the Doctor Who Complete Sixth Season is well handled. The BBC did a nice job of bundling everything up. Season six was initially released in two separate bundles, each with one half of the season, but hopefully you waited and didn’t buy those. Getting this box set means you also get the “A Christmas Carol” 2010 Christmas special, which was sold separately from the prior season six bundles. This compilation also includes the customary Doctor Who Confidential shorts, as well as episode commentary, “Comic Relief” sketches, episode prequel segments and five scenes from “Night and the Doctor” that didn’t appear when the episode was aired. However, there are also some bonus segments that aren’t exactly necessary included. For example, you also get four “Monster Files” segments talking about some aliens that appeared this season and trailers for the show. Odds are, you won’t watch any of those. For the most part, however, the bonus features are a nice compliment to the 13 main episodes from season six.

“I’m being extremely clever up here and there’s no one to stand around looking impressed!”

The sixth season of Doctor Who may not be the best, but it is undoubtedly essential. The plot revelations that come up here tie up loose ends fans have been wondering about throughout the fourth and fifth seasons. Not to mention it sets up the series for a fresh start with new companions in season seven. Doctor Who The Complete Sixth Series also offers viewers a complete box set that contains every possible piece of media pertaining to the sixth season of the show, from the 2010 Christmas special to a few “prequel” scenes to set up a handful of the episodes. It also contains the last 14 episodes of the Doctor Who Confidential series that showed behind-the-scenes peeks at how episodes were made. If you really enjoy the series, then it’s definitely a solid investment.

Site [Doctor Who]

Product: Sway Single Beanbag Chair, Sway Couple Beanbag Chair
Company: Sumo
Price: $279 (Sway Couple Microsuede), $299 (Sway Couple – Corduroy)
Pros: Big, comfortable, fits two people, has back support and easy to clean.
Cons: Cover is not removable. A bit pricey for a college dorm but, if you can afford it, you just need to find the space.
Ratings: Two thumbs up; 90/100; A-; * * * * out of five.
Overall: A great beanbag chair that will work well in any game room and match nearly any decor.

Forget Sumo’s Sultan beanbag chair. It’s a good enough beanbag chair but, if you are looking for a comfy, over sized, beanbag-filled gaming chair that’s more like a structured “chair” than a sloppy bag, you can pretty much forget most of Sumo’s products save the Sway line.

All of the Sumo chairs have individual comfort profiles but the Sway Couple Beanbag Chair wins over them all for me for one simple reason: Stability.

Big Brown Chair(s)

I’ve now reviewed two Sumo chairs and they are both commonly referred to as the “Big Brown Chairs” by family and friends. It’s in part because of the color but mostly because these chairs are huge. Big, Really Big and Even Bigger should be the size names. They are also very memorable seats in terms of comfort.

The Sway, like all other Sumo chairs, has a bean bag core with a breathable lining that, after you unbox it, quadruples its footprint and takes on a more comfortable, beanbag-like (or maybe burnt marshmallow or giant meatball) appearance.

Each Sumo chair has a microsuede cover and the Sway’s is attached to the rest of the chair.This model does come with a small side pocket (or pouch) that is good for holding a few remotes or even a wide console controller. Notice in the photo below that a standard Wii wheel WiiMote attachment fits in the pocket. As in the entire attachment, with the WiiMote and it fits completely into the pocket (not just half way out as you see in the photo).

There are four available colors and the fit pretty much every decor: Khaki, Funky Brown, Pitch Black and Fiery Red. The microsuede is pretty easy to wash with a wet cloth although you can also get corduroy (I suggest the former). Unfortunately, it does not have the unzip-and-launder convenience of some of the other models being attached (the bottom does unzip to reveal the harder cotton fluff base). i suspect the design prevents the cover from being easily removed.

Shape is the main difference between each of the Sumo beanbag chairs and this is where the Sway Couple chair wins it all for me.

It’s Beany and It’s a Chair

Most beanbag chairs, although they claim to be “chairs,” are ultimately stools. They offer zero back support and aren’t much more structurally designed to do much more than keep in the bans. They are, really, just a big ol’ bag of beans, even if the beans are made of puffy plastic.

Here’s where the Sway Couple surpasses all other beanbag chairs: It is actually a chair. It has a back that allows you to comfortably sit up.

The Sway Couple, is as the “couple” portion of the name suggests, is also built for two adults. And two people do fit on it either close and cozy or with enough room for a polite separation. Granted, it’s not quite couch like, so it’s not a true love seat stand-in but it will suffice in a party pinch. It does sit a bit lower to the ground so you’ll have to bend your knees a bit to plant your feet flat on the floor.

For gamers, this works much better than Sumo’s Gamer beanbag chair thanks to the back support. It helps keeps you comfortably facing forward so you can see the screen while retaining all the plushy comfort of a high-end beanbag chair. The other beanbags chairs have the lack of structure that causes it to more quickly flatten and better resemble a pillow than a chair. (You can easily see this effect at any game expo where Sumo often scatters several for gamers to use in lounges or other waiting areas. You’ll notice they are all usually either lying down, face to the ceiling, or constantly flipping around to find ways to comfortably use their handheld device.)

Get or Gift, You Gotta Have One

By combining size, stability, comfort, attractive colors and washable microsuede covers, the Sway Couple is the creme de la creme of bean bag chairs. It’s the king seat, the majestic throne of what many considered the slouchiest of seats.

If you are looking for the ideal gaming chair for those who like soft seats and an actual back, Sumo’s Sway Couple is the best beanbag chair for the job. It’ll work in room at either end of the snazzy-to-slovenly spectrum.

Product Page [Sumo Sway Couple Beanbag Chair]

[Show as slideshow]

Title: Katawa Shoujo
Price: Free
System(s): Windows, Mac, Linux
Release Date: January 4, 2012
Publisher (Developer): Four Leaf Studios (Four Leaf Studios)
ESRB Rating: N/A, 18 and over since it does have adult content, sexual situations and smoking.
Pros: Realistic storylines and depictions of relationships, detailed character art, doesn’t in any way make fun of or light of disabled people, has animated cutscenes, can turn adult content on or off, can listen to music or see unlocked images in the Extras menu and there are bad, neutral and good endings for the five characters. It’s also available in 9 different languages. Can pick up at any point in any unlocked story segment with the Library feature.
Cons: Only certain decisions determine if you get bad, neutral or good endings. Only torrent downloads are currently available. Even if you turn off adult content, you’ll still see nudity.
Overall Score: 9/10
Note: This review was conducted with adult content disabled.

Katawa Shoujo was born from controversy. It’s first moments came from potential character art of five disabled girls created by Raita that found its way onto 4chan, and the developer Four Leaf Studios was actually made up of 4chan residents and members of other assorted online communities. That alone would easily dissuade people from playing. Bring up the fact that Katawa Shoujo means Crippled Girls in Japanese only makes things worse.

Yet, Katawa Shoujo isn’t a bad thing. It isn’t insensitive. It isn’t mocking the disabled characters that star in the adventure. It isn’t a means for players to live out strange sexual fantasies, even with the adult content turned on in the options. It’s a well written and thought out adventure that takes a realistic look at relationships between individuals and shows the growth of a newly disabled character as he comes to deal with his new impediment and realizes the true measure of individuals comes from what’s inside.

A heart attack leads to a blank slate

Hisao Nakai is normal. Starts out normal, anyways. His high school crush, Iwanoko, comes to confess her love for him one wintr day and, after hearing her voice her affections, he suffers a horrible heart attack. He then spends months alone in a hospital, undergoing surgery and treatment for the congentital heart defect and arrhythmia it turns out he’s had his whole life. As time passes, his friends and Iwanoko stop visiting. Hisao even starts to think he’ll never leave the hospital.

Of course, he does get that opportunity. His cardiologist and parents feel he’s ready to head out into the world, with multiple prescriptions, and determine that Yamaku Academy is the best place for him. It’s a boarding school with 24-hour nursing staff and an adjacent hospital that caters to children and teenagers who have some kind of physical disability or health issue that requires specialized care. But it’s more than just some kind of day-care for special kids. Yamaku is designed to help its students build learn, encourage natural talents and build life skills while also allowing them to go through rehab so they can lead successful and fufilling lives. Hisao is understandably depressed and pessimistic at this point, since he just sees it as being shuffled off to some special school because he’s defective now, but a part of him also realizes this is a blank slate and a chance for him to have a new start in life.

He arrives in class 3-3 at one week before a school festival and finds that Yamaku both is and isn’t the place he expected. While understandably nervous and tactless at the outset, Yamaku provides an opportunity for Hisao to grow as a person and develop a relationship with Shizuna Hakamichi, Lilly Satou, Hanako Ikezawa, Emi Ibarazaki or Rin Tezuka.

Katawa Shoujo is more professional than some commercial visual novels.

Before you even start wondering, Katawa Shoujo contains no stereotypical or weak characters. Each member of the main cast is completely capable despite any disabilities he or she may have, and may even have surprising talents that will surprise the player. For example, Emi is a character who lost both of her legs below the knee in a car accident. Despite that, she’s the star running on the track team and runs multiple events at each meet. Rin has no arms due to a birth defect, but is a fantastic painter and is charged with the creation of a large mural for Katawa Shoujo‘s opening festival. Shizune is the president of the student council, even though she’s deaf and mute and has to have her friend Misha on hand to communicate with students who don’t know sign language. These characters are more than competant and happen to be ordinary girls who just happen to have some extraordinary circumstances to deal with. While some of these characters may have issues that initially inhibit them as the game begins, like the burn victim Hanako, they also grow throughout the game with the help of their friends and Hisao.

In addition, the relationships that develop between Hisao and each of the girls is incredibly realistic. As someone who’s played quite a few otome (girl’s dating sim) visual novels, I can attest that that’s quite a feat in any dating simulation. Hisao doesn’t just magically launch into a relationship with any of the five girls. They aren’t fawning over him. It actually takes time and effort to build a relationship with the girls and it happens gradually. Hisao and the girls slowly develop a friendship and eventually fall in love, sometimes not even realizing how deep their feelings are until the game’s end. Things aren’t always perfect or happy and they even have issues to worth through together to become closer and well adjusted individuals. Also, the endings available even reflect this. In the case of Emi, you can either earn a good end or a bad end, there’s no in-between. For Lilly, you can either achieve a good end or a neutral ending. It’s almost refreshing to see that there aren’t always limitless possibilities or a good, neutral or bad ending available.

Even more impressive are Katawa Shoujo‘s production values. It is longer and gives the player more than many commercial games. It puts commercial games from both Japan and North America to shame. I’m not just talking about the writing, characterization, character art, soundtrack and gallery options. Katawa Shoujo is the first visual novel I’ve played that was made outside Japan and contains animated cutscenes. Yes, there is actually animation in this free game. There’s a brief segment when the game first begins, after Hisao is hospitalized, and there are five segments that appear before each girl’s storyline begins. Each segment looks as though it were professionally done and offers a brief vignette of a moment between Hisao and the girl or an insight into their relationship. I was floored the first time I saw one of these segments and it just proves Four Leaf Studio’s dedication and love for the game.

There’s actually only one downside I encountered. Katawa Shoujo does have an adult content switch in the options menu, allowing players to turn certain scenes on and off. However, this does not turn off all adult content in the game. There will still be nude character art and you’ll see the dialogue leading up to the sexual situations. The event CGs and text descriptions of said acts will be censored though, with images of food or animals appearing briefly instead of the mature content. This means there really is no “all ages” version to enjoy. So parents or gamers who just don’t like seeing naked people on their screen should know that this is definitely a game for people over the age of 18.

If you really want to give Katawa Shoujo a try and are over 18, but aren’t big on the adult situations, you can always turn the adult content off, check the box to skip unseen text and then just skip through any scenes where Hisao gets intimate with his girlfriend. From what I’ve seen, there seems to be only one or two five minute moments like this in each route, and each storyline takes about three or four hours to complete. So you can see, the focus is on the actual relationship between Hisao and the other characters, and not on physical affairs.

An intimate understandings of relationships regardless of physical abilities or disabilities.

The biggest testament to the greatness of Katawa Shoujo is that eventually, you’ll forget that all of the major characters are disabled in some way. Even though the disabilities are physically visible in the character art for Lilly, Hanako and Rin at all times, I found I kept focusing more on what the characters were saying, doing and feeling than what they looked like or challenges they faced. This change comes through in Hisao’s character as well, as by the second act of each route Hisao has gone from tiptoeing and occasionally tactlessly conversing with his classmates to seeing them all as ordinary people who might just happen to be a little different than everyone else, and even becoming protective of them in some situations and wondering why other people are reacting to them the same way he did when he first met them.

I can understand why someone would be skeptical heading about Katawa Shoujo. It deals with some very strong and sensitive issues. However, it doesn’t skirt around these issues and disabilities or mock them. It’s straightforward and honest. Which is probably why it is such an effective visual novel. It rings true. If you want to play a really good visual novel about interpersonal relationships and don’t mind occasional adult content, then you should put any hesitance aside and try Katawa Shoujo.

[Show as slideshow]

12►

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables looks at the GP2X and GP2X Wiz.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables talked about Japanese drinks.

Follow Jenni on Twitter for more import game updates and general fangirl enthusiasm!

Japanese snacks are always a good way to experiment and try something new without worrying about the whole endeavor going too badly. Since we looked back at some Japanese candy back around Halloween, today we’ll go through some assorted Japanese, non-alcoholic drinks. All of them are relatively easy to find here, either in a local store or online, so you won’t have to

The novelty of Japanese drinks

It’s easy to develop a fascination with Japanese snacks, or even with the way said snacks are provided. Vending machine culture and unusual flavor combinations are typical in the country. It’s unique. People get to experience another culture and feel a little adventurous at the same time, without doing anything too unorthodox.

Vending machines are everywhere in Japan and you can get all kinds of drinks in a hurry, be they hot or cold. Of course there are standard soda machines and hot coffee dispensers with coffee, tea or other hot drinks. Beer machines can also be found in some areas though. Also, the hot drink dispensers are different in that some provide a warm can of coffee or perhaps even a drink like Calpis rather than just giving the buyer a paper cup filled with liquid.

The unexpected flavors are even more common though. Milk flavored drinks and usual tea combinations are everywhere. Coca-Cola and Pepsi are great examples, as both companies have special kinds sold only in Japan. Sometimes they’re even limited editions. Some of the most notable varieties include Coca-Cola Citra (Citrus flavored), Green Tea Coca-Cola Plus, Pepsi Pink (strawberry milk flavored), Pepsi Baobab and Pepsi White (yogurt flavored). Right now, Green Tea Coca-Cola Plus, Pepsi White Sapote (fruit and ginger-flavored) and Pepsi Pink are available in Japan.

Now, finding these Japanese drinks is surprisingly easy in most cases. If there’s an Asian or ethnic grocery store in your neighborhood, odds are you’ll find one or two varieties of Japanese colas, coffees or drinks there. Amazon also carries quite a few as well, or has other vendors selling them there. Or, you can always turn to specialized websites like Asian Snack Time or JBox, which focus on importing snacks from Japan. If you want an unusual Pepsi or Coke variety, you’ll probably have to import, as they rarely appear in stores outside of the country. napaJapan is a good store for picking up the assorted Pepsi and Coca-Cola drinks, and even occasionally carries old varieties for those rare people who collect Pepsi and Coke products.

Drink up!

So, after reading all about how it’s cool to get some foreign drink, possibly in an awesome can featuring iconic characters or unusual designs, you probably want to get one for yourself. Don’t worry, they really aren’t that hard to find. This is especially true if you have an Asian grocery store near your home. Keep an eye out for the following drinks.

Calpis (Calpico)
Price: ~$2 per can, ~5 per bottle
Flavor: Avoid this if you can’t handle dairy, as Calpis, known as Calpico outside Japan, is a drink made of water, dry milk and lactic acid. Depending on the variety you can get Calpis Water or Calpis Soda, with the water version being the standard variety and the soda version being carbonated. There are fruit flavor varieties and people have been known to mix it with liquor to make cocktails. It’s considered a health drink.
Best Served: Cold. Only cold. I can’t imagine drinking it warm. Though, surprisingly, some Japanese vending machines sell Hot Calpis. I shudder at the thought.

Mitsuya Cider
Price: ~$2 per bottle
Flavor: Pretend the “cider” part of Mitsuya Cider isn’t even there. It doesn’t matter. This is just a plain old soft drink, with the original flavor being similar to 7Up or Sprite. It’s supposed to be fizzy and refreshing, and it is. There are also varieties that add in hints of fruit flavor, like lemon or orange. Actually, as good as the drink is, the Mitsuya Cider hard candies are actually better because they not only have the same flavor, they also have the same fizzy feeling when you eat them.
Best Served: Cold

Pocari Sweat
Price: ~$3 per bottle
Flavor: Think of Pocari Sweat as being similar to Gatorade. It’s a non-carbonated sports drink designed to rehydrate people and boost energy with sugar and electrolytes. As far as taste, it’s rather bland and mildly fruity. Unlike health drinks we’re familiar with, Pocari Sweat is only available in a grapefruit variety.
Best Served: Cold

Ramune
Price: ~$2 per bottle
Flavor: Ramune is just a carbonated soft drink. The taste isn’t all that phenomenal, no matter which variety you get. (The standard flavor is lemon-lime, but there are various fruit and cola flavored Ramune as well.) It’s good, but the real appeal comes from the bottle. It’s a Codd-neck bottle with a marble keeping the drink fresh and sealed. It’s held in place with pressure and you have to use a little piece of plastic, included on the top of the bottle, to push the marble into the bottle so you can drink. You even have to drink it in just the right way so the marble doesn’t slip back into place. It’s more about novelty than taste.
Best Served: Cold

UCC Milk Coffee
Price: ~$2 per can, $18 if you get the can and Evangelion figure set.
Flavor: The product description actually does a pretty good job of describing the UCC Milk Coffee taste. It’s coffee that’s flavored with milk and sugar. It’s reminiscent of the kind of coffee you’d get from a vending machine or gas station, actually. Which figures, because it’s sold in vending machines in Japan. It’s particularly notable for anime fans as there have been multiple promotions with UCC and Evangelion, with either the cans featuring characters on them or coming in a pack that includes a figurine.
Best Served: Warm or cold. Remember to pour it into a glass or mug before heading it up in a microwave.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables looks at the GP2X and GP2X Wiz.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables talked about Doctor Who games.

Site [AmiAmi] Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]