Every week, as I peruse the latest Famitsu Weekly, I spare a glance for the comics section. Just a short one though, since I don't find their regular series to be all that interesting, and the parody comics can be hit or miss. This one, however, I just had to share.

The problem of the hour is, with both Final Fantasy XIII and The New Super Mario Bros. for the Wii coming out at the same time, how is one to choose what to play first? The answer? Combine them and see what happens! Now introducing Final Mario Fantasy!

Seriously, I think the scans kind of say it all...

Whenever I make the effort to get a new DS game on the day of release, one of my first concerns is where best to settle down and get acquainted with my newest purchase. Sometimes I'll get a chair at the nearest cafe, sometimes I'll play it after a light lunch. Some days, I have to play it on the bus because my desire for the game conflicts with my work schedule just a tad. If I were to be in Tokyo around the end of the month, when Dragon Quest VI - Realms of Reverie hits the shelves, I'd be quite tempted to start my game here:

Luida's Bar is an important locale in Dragon Quest IX, and now it's a definite stop for any major DQ fan in the greater Tokyo metropolitan area (at least, all the fanatics over the age of 20). Where else, after all, can one try the famous Giant's Club of roast chicken?

Or fancy cocktails named for major magic spells from the DQ series?

From left to right, we have the Hyado Cool (named for the ice spell), the Virgin Melazoma (named for the nastiest of fireball attacks), and the Sexy Beam (whose name should be self-explanatory).

In other DQ gourmet news, Famitsu Weekly has had a long-running feature where they showcase bento (box lunches) with DQ themes. While I don't usually comment on these, seeing as that's a near-infinite kettle of fish that I'd rather not have to worry about, this seems like a good time to mention them.

Itadakimasu!

As the Japanese school year comes to a close, a new graduating class has high school to look forward to. One of the big decisions these students will have to make is what extracurricular activities to participate in. So, to all you incoming high school freshmen out there, have you given any consideration to joining the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad? Benefits include special martial arts training, transcendental experiences in which you encounter your inner self, and all the fun that comes with saving the world every now and then. Also, they're now offering these snazzy bracelets as a signing bonus:

If you want the bling without the danger of imminent obliteration, they'll also be available here starting in March, for the tidy sum of 9500 yen (about US$105).

We've had Digimon Stories - Lost Evolution on the radar for a month or two now, but aside from the game's largely uninformative website, we haven't heard much about it. It's time to update our information.

As for the story, apparently the Digital World has been struck with a strange malaise that prevents its denizens from achieving evolution. The hero has to step in to help. In order to bring a relative level of normalcy back the realm, the player has to uncover "digi-plates" containing the evolutionary info of various Digimon. By using a special system called the Repair Ring, he or she can restore these plates and expand the powers of his Digimon pals.

Okay, so it's not much, but we now have real screenshots here.

Place	Title	Publisher	Release Date	Platform	# Sold
50	Magician's Quest Mysterious Times	Konami	11.13.2008		218,139*
47	Tales of Rebirth	Bandai-Namco	8.6.2009		231,351
44	Monster Hunter G	Capcom	9.17.2009		236,020
42	Dissidia Final Fantasy	Square Enix	12.18.2008		242,136*
41	Poképark Wii - Pikachu's Big Adventure	Nintendo / Pokémon Company	12.5.2009		243,075
36	Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles - Echoes of Time	Square Enix	1.29.2009		259,705
30	Tales of the World - Radiant Mythology 2	Bandai-Namco	1.29.2009		317,730
28	Legend of Zelda - Spirit Tracks	Nintendo	12.23.2009		320,940
27	Pokémon Platinum	Nintendo / Pokémon Company	9.13.2008		328,490*
25	Tales of Vesperia	Bandai-Namco	9.17.2009		337,783
20	Pokémon Mystery Dungeon - Explorers of Sky	Nintendo / Pokémon Company	4.18.2009		417,226
14	Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days	Square Enix	5.30.2009		522,260
11	Mario & Luigi - Bowser's Inside Story	Nintendo	2.11.2009		717,940
10	Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP the Best)	Capcom	10.30.2008		911,497*
9	Inazuma Eleven 2 - Fire/Blizzard	Level 5	10.1.2009		943,615
8	Monster Hunter Tri	Capcom	8.1.2009		968,033
5	Final Fantasy XIII	Square Enix	12.17.2009		1,698,256
2	Pokémon Heart Gold / Soul Silver	Nintendo / Pokémon Company	9.12.2009		3,382,597
1	Dragon Quest IX	Square Enix	7.11.2009		4,100,968

*this year. Magician's Quest has sold a total of 451,588 copies. Dissidia has sold a total of 902,398. Pokémon Platinum has sold a total of 2,515,827. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G has sold a total of 1,110,614.

All release dates are for the Japanese market.

We're in the post-holiday news lull at the moment. Hopefully we'll hear of more new and interesting games in the near future. It's about time for Atlus to make their next big game announcement, now that I think of it. Any bets on what it will be this time? Write in if you have anything to say on the matter (or any other matter)!

And that's the news from Hi-no-Kuni,

Your man in Japan,

Gaijin Monogatari