I knew it was coming but it still surprises me every year. TGS was crowed the last 2 days but that was nothing compared to when it is opened to the public. During the press days I can walk from one end of the show to the other in about 7 minutes, on the public days it takes about a half an hour. It’s like being in very polite mosh pit all day. People are shoving you, but they are very nice about it, apologizing a lot. This year the attendance was down for media people on the public days. I can see why. It’s crazy. Still, what can I say? I love it.

For one thing, there are only cosplayers on the public days. These game and anime fans are devoted to their hobby in the same way that some are devoted to a religion. The lines to take pictures of the best cosplayers are often as long or longer than the lines to play a lot of the games on the show floor. For this reason I never seem to have time to make a decent cosplay gallery. Maybe some day.. Since the cosplayers are gamers as well, you can see them getting in line to try out the new games along with everyone else. “People watching” is great at TGS.

The public days are also when the companies stage elaborate live events. I didn’t really watch many of them this year and I am sad to report that this is the first year I have been at TGS that the D3 booth did not have Oneechanbara (Bikini clad zombie killer) girls during their stage show.

The first game I tried today is one I was already familiar with. The ADK Collection from SNK contains one of my favorite arcade games, Ninja Commando. What other game do you know where it’s Ninja vs. Dinosaurs? Or Ninja Vs. Sumo? It’s a truly great game. The collection also had Ninja Masters, Ninja Combat, Twinkle Star Spirits and one more. But no further dinosaurs. As far as I could tell the games were arcade perfect, but the expected retail price of $50 seemed a bit steep. I think I’ll just get Ninja Commando off Virtual Console.

Next I went over to the Taito Booth, which was very, very pink. It was filled with Cooking Mama and Gardening Mama games, which I am far too manly to play (in public). I played the new Puzzle Bobble (Bust-a-Move) game on the DS. It’s not much different than the old Puzzle Bobble games, but that’s fine, I haven’t bought a potable one yet so I might pick it up. The budget price and 4-person multiplayer helps make that decision easier.

The next game I played was one that I had been looking forward to when it was announced and then just kind of forgot about. The game is Space Invaders Get Even! In this game you are in charge of a fleet of Space Invaders trying to get revenge on the Earth for all the invaders YOU destroyed in the late 70’s early 80s. They must have forgotten that they attacked in the first place. Anyway, the game is a blast. You basically go though and just destroy cities using a number of different weapons. It’s really zany. I was playing the demo and they told me I needed to destroy Tokyo Tower (but I was just there!). After I destroyed it I found out I had to destroy 3 additional Tokyo Towers! I was enjoying the game a lot. Enjoying it so much in fact that I wanted to know when I could buy it and for how much. The lady at the booth said it was 500 Wii Points and that it was actually already out. I felt pretty dumb that I totally missed it. I am going to make up for that mistake by downloading it as soon as I get home.

There was only one game that I was willing to wait in a 90-minute line for and that game was the RPG Arc Rise Fantasia from Marvelous Entertainment. Was it worth the wait? You will have to read my impressions post to find out.

When I was done playing the game it was once again time for the show to end. The day was not done for me however, as I had tickets for the GMT concert that would happen later in the evening.

The anime series “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya” has inspired many cosplayers. I ran into these girls, as I was getting ready to go to the concert. What is a group of Haruhi Suzumiyas called? A gaggle of Haruhis? A murder of Haruhis?

It was now time for the concert, which I will detail in a very long, video filled, post that I am working on right now. But to continue the slight cosplay theme of today I would like to end with a picture of a girl I met in the front row of the show.

Once again, I got back to the hotel after midnight. I decided I would sleep in a bit the next day but there were still so many games I needed to play, so many things to see. I will do my best!

Oh, and in case you were wondering what happened to Kate and Holli today, well.. I got this picture sent to my cell phone. They ditched me to go to Disney Land.