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Pictoimage's boxart is inspiring
It's appropriate that a game about drawing should have some nice art on its cover, in order to get players in an art mood right away. We happen to enjoy Pictoimage's boxart, which was also used in Japan, a lot. The little characters are somewhere between Miis and MySims, and the literal nature of the art (which basically depicts eight friends playing Pictoimage instead of anything that happens in Pictoimage) gives the cover a sort of "board game" feeling. As if Pictoimage were something you brought out during gatherings to help break the ice. We're also fond of the spectating pets, who just seem happy that their human friends are having such a good time drawing. While researching, we found something else about Pictoimage that makes us happy: the game was developed by Skonec, creators of the wacky horror puzzle game Joshikousei Nigeru! When you play Pictoimage, be sure to draw some gaping-mouthed dudes as a tribute.%Gallery-21261%
Ro Puzzle gets touched
We recently learned that the phenomenally wacky Joshikousei Nigeru! Shinrei Puzzle Gakuen from Success is a remake/sequel/adaptation/thing of an existing Korean puzzle game called Touch Ro Puzzle. Spencer Yip just happened to be in Korea, so he sought out a copy of the original puzzler to check it out. Via his description, then, we can also get a better idea of how Joshikousei Nigeru works.The twist in this particular iteration of Bejeweled is that matching three or more (monsters) earns you a portion of the game's playfield as your territory, marked by the color orange. Turn a certain percentage of the screen orange and you win! Or, in the Joshikousei Nigeru version, you don't die a frightful death!
Joshikousei Nigeru before it rose from the grave
Joshikousei Nigeru! Shinrei Puzzle Gakuen, our favorite horror puzzle game (by default), has a terrifying secret. We wondered how such a weirdly creative game could get made on a shoestring budget for the Superlite 2500 series. The obvious answer to this question is that it was already made.Joshikousei Nigeru! entered the world as a Korean puzzle game called Touch RO Puzzle. Back then it was a little less haunting and a bit more yay, with cute children and adorably rotund creatures populating a children's-fable-themed world full of bright colors and brighter smiles. Where Joshikousei Nigeru's boxart depicts a frightened young woman gripping a wall in terror, Touch RO Puzzle's features a little monster bashfully peeking in from the edge of the frame. Joshikousei Nigeru! is somewhat of a sequel to Touch RO Puzzle, since the game was released in its original incarnation in Japan. Still, somehow, developer Skonec looked at their adorable puzzle game and saw horrors within. We'd love to know the inspiration for that design decision.
The Nightmare After Christmas: Joshikousei Nigeru! trailer
If you thought that Success Corp. would rely on a cheaply produced trailer for Joshikousei Nigeru! Shinrei Puzzle Gakuen, the newest bargain-priced game in its SuperLite 2500 budget series, well then ... you were absolutely right! We love how the video lulls you into a false sense of security with its unthreatening text and recycled concept art, when, all of a sudden -- a giant, bloody handprint attacks your screen!Thankfully, the eight-second gameplay clip included in the trailer does the puzzle/survival-horror title justice, what with its yelps of pain from well-executed combos, its sickening sound effects of bloody limbs slapping against each other as the puzzle pieces drop, and its partially obscured wraith on the top screen, whose red eye is always watching you while you play, rolling back every now and then to remind you it's alive. Rumor has it, if you get a high enough score, the undead schoolgirl pulls herself out of the DS screen. She crawls towards your shaking body as you yell out for help right before her heavy fingers smack against and close around your throat. And just when you think you're only a moment away from death, you feel her cold form sidle next to you, her grip still around your neck. She sings, her gray lips a half-inch away from your ear, the lullabies your mother used to hum to calm you down when you were a child. This goes on for what seems like hours before she finally lets you die. We thought it was a pretty cool rumor, too! %Gallery-10383% [Via Dengeki]
Joshikousei Nigeru!'s final boxart not so wacky
Remember that bizarre boxart we cracked jokes about for Joshikousei Nigeru! Shinrei Puzzle Gakuen, the budget survival horror-themed puzzler from Success? That cover turned out to be just a placeholder, and the finalized design has been put up at Joshikousei Nigeru!'s recently launched teaser site. The new art seems more appropriate to the game's schoolgirls-in-distress cast, but it's not nearly as memorable as the ghoul lunging for some off-camera cheeseburger (viewable past the break). We're actually kind of bummed that Success opted to not use that silly image. We were planning on turning the bogeyman's open-mouthed expression into the next Jam Sessions dude, photoshopping him into article images at every opportunity.%Gallery-10383%
