It’s been over a year since the last regular episode of Famicom Dojo, but what a year 2009 was! We filled it with lots of Denshimail love, but we know what you really wanted — nay — CRAVED. As such, it is my pleasure to announce that the long-awaited first episode is coming in February!

Until then, enjoy this preview of the episode’s first several minutes (entitled Episode 00), which I think nicely sets the tone for what to expect in the coming season:

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Well at least every major system that isn’t a shameless clone.

Okay, so maybe I didn’t check to see if every system was in there. There’s still a ton of them listed in roughly chronological order. You can also click on any one of them and read about the background of that particular system. A pretty nifty way to kill some time and get a rough sense of the great variety of videogame consoles we’ve seen over the years.

Consollection.de

Special events are nothing new in the world of comics. But we sure are seeing a lot of them lately. Following the success of Blackest Night, DC is set to unleash Brightest Day along with yet another ring promotion. I’m not complaining. The Lantern rings from the last promotion were solidly constructed and made for adult-sized fingers, and these new rings should be just as awesome.

Be sure to call up your local comic shop to make sure they’ll be getting the rings in. Retailers who order ten or more copies of The Flash #1 will also be eligible to receive Flash rings, while those that order ten or more copies of Green Lantern #53 will be able to order Green Lantern rings. Flash rings will be available on April 14 while the Green Lantern rings should be in stores April 21.

Experimental Breakout mod from the Game Mod workshop. Showcase reel of other works viewable here.

Okay, so not just mods, but user-created content in general. This week’s issue of The Escapist discusses a number of topics under the user-created content domain ranging from the evolution of the scene up to its current state to the variety of different mediums users work in to show their devotion towards their favorite games. There’s plenty of input from people in various aspects of the community so it’s worth the read just to hear what these craftspeople and modders have to say.

Escapist Issue 238: We Built This City

I’ve seen lots of cute kids dressed up as Link, but this little girl takes the cake.

Nintendo just announced that the Monster Hunter 3 + Classic Controller Pro bundle will be coming to America. The bundle will be priced at $59.99, the game at $49.99 and the controller at $19.99. I was already getting this game, but now the deal is even sweeter.

Here’s a close-up shot of the controller, and the full press release is after the break.

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No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle is out this week. Although Ubisoft hasn’t really been pushing it in terms of advertising, it should be a great title to add to your Wii library.

Check out the full list of releases after the break.

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I saw this incredible rendition of Pokemon as traditional Japanese art at Kotaku earlier, and upon sharing the link in the staff thread, one of our own chimed in with the following:

“rumas i thought that was pretty cool until the very end when i saw a flaming unicorn dog with hooves.”

I do believe his interpretation was spot-on.

My favorite thing about 4cr when I first started reading this site was the archive of user-generated concepts of the Nintendo Revolution. Before we balked at the name (and swore to still call it the Revolution) or even had our first glimpse of the unique controls, the gaming nerds of the internet all tried our hands at describing what we imagined the future would bring. Arguing about whether the latest “leaked” images of the console were real or not may now seem like an embarrassing way to have helped pass the endless wait for an official unveiling, but I won’t deny that it was also one of the most fun periods to be a part of the gaming community.

And it seems to me like it’s getting to be that time again…

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A random question for you this fine Friday. Super Paper Mario is a game that’s always been a subject of divergent opinions among the 4cr staff, and since I’ve recently been getting the urge to revisit it, I thought I’d ask you what you think of the all-but-forgotten Wii game.

Personally, I’ve always loved it. The experience may be a bit on the slow side, and the visuals are quite plain, but I enjoyed every moment I spent its world. The title’s pointer implementation is still one of the best examples of how subtle motion control can enhance a game, and the mini-games, one of which is pictured above, were downright fantastic.

It’s always seemed to me, however, that the haters of SPM have outweighed the defenders. What about you? Do you think the game deserves a better reputation than it has? Worse? Was it okay but nothing special? Hoping for another entry? Chime in.

Fatal Frame IV, which was released in Japan over a year and a half ago, was something of a departure for the series. Rather than being developed by the traditional team at Tecmo, much of the programming and design was overseen by Suda-51 and his team at Grasshopper (who you may know from Killer 7 and No More Heroes). Even more interestingly - Nintendo picked up the publishing duties.

Despite it being the most successful entry in the entire series, Nintendo of America unceremoniously rejected the game for an English release. Not only that, but they prevented Tecmo from publishing it as well. After Nintendo of Europe also rejected it, fans were left with no way to play the game in English.

Until now, that is. The fan translation has finally been completed. All that you need to do is load their patch onto an SD card, run an installer, and launch a legal disc-based copy of the game. Need a copy of the game? Play-Asia has you covered. Want to know more about the game itself? A trailer for the fan translation lies just beyond the cut.

Fatal Fram 4 Fan Translation.

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Like with so many other DSiWare games, I had no idea that Dark Void Zero even existed until a press release hit my inbox this morning. My ears (well, eyes I suppose) piqued up when I noticed this line:

To commemorate Dark Void’s humble origins, Capcom commissioned the recreation of the original 8-bit classic, now re-titled “Dark Void Zero”, on the DSi platform.

This would, of course, imply that Dark Void was originally in development for the NES. Imagine that - Dark Void could have been just as famous of a name as Mega Man or Bionic Commando. Sadly, just a little bit of digging reveals a more Matt Hazard-ish reality. No real 8-bit Dark Void existed, but an April Fool’s Day post from the Capcom Unity blog reveals the reality that could have been.

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I thought action figures were freaking awesome as a kid (c’mon, we all did) but, other than the occasional Dalek/Stormtrooper wars on my work desk, I haven’t touched the things in years. I may just have to change that when this Revoltech version of Professor Layton hits store shelves in March.

Along with the man himself, you get a table, a tea set, several interchangeable hands, and two different faces. The Japanese figure will retail for ¥2,400 ($26.25), which is a low, low price for something so mindblowingly awesome.

source: Tiny Cartridge

Not much this week, except for the long-awaited Dark Void. Capcom has also surprised us with Dark Void Zero, a full 8-bit prequel for DSiWare. Nintendo’s Glory of Heracles will also hit the DS. Anybody know anything about it?

Check out the full list of releases after the break.

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We have rested, and deliberated, and now our celebration of the best games of 2009 continues. Today, we tackle the hulking powerhouses of the console industry - the Xbox 360 and PS3.

This was an interesting year for these consoles, and unlike 2008, there were very many platform-exclusive titles. In the current economy, console-makers can’t seem to offer big enough incentives for a publisher to justify only releasing a game for one platform. Thus, most of this year’s biggest games - Assassin’s Creed 2, Arkham Asylum, Street Fighter IV, Modern Warfare 2, etc - made it out on both systems.

Of course, there were a number of incredible exclusives on both platforms this year, with games like Shadow Complex on the 360 and Uncharted 2 on the PS3.

Want to know which games were our favorites? Read on, then tell us about your picks in the comments.

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