Robots, games, booth babes and people who never venture from their rooms!

The Tokyo Game Show 2008 was held at Makuhari Messe in Tokyo on October 11th & 12th and as excepted it pulled in an overwhelming crowd. It took over 30 minutes to step inside after having waited just over an hour in line outside, shoulder to shoulder with thousands of Japanese fans mashing away on their PSP`s (Monster Hunter by the way seemed to be their choice of entertainment).

Crowd navigation within the first hour was extremely difficult - people were locked up against each other, focused on reaching their favorite booth first. As expected, people swarmed the Square-Einx booth immediately so I decided to come back later and see what else was on offer. Amongst all the shoving, I witnessed on two occasions a couple of foreigners forcefully pushing people out of their way from shier frustration. I certainly don’t blame them cause I too was starting to get quite irritated.

Naturally there were a ton of new games on display - recent or soon to be released but it was a bit disappointing that no ground-shaking news about anything was unveiled. I guess at this stage it’s too early for developers such as Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft to announce any information on their next generation of consoles and Metal Gear Solid 4 had already been released back in June. A new console, R.O.I.D from Level 5 Inc. was pretty neat looking but nothing I would consider worthy for great excitement. Maybe next year.

The focus was almost entirely on game titles, which is after all what The Tokyo Game Show should be about. That and gorgeous booth babes in tight-fitting, sexy uniforms…Smile!

Developer List
The list of developers that attended this year`s show was long and extensive. Some of the more major ones included:

• Capcom
• Electronic Arts
• Konami
• Level-5
• Microsoft
• Namco Bandai
• Sony Computer Entertainment
• Square Enix
• Tecmo
• Hudson
• Koei

I was surprised to see Australia`s own Fuzzyeyes Studio with their new game Edge of Twilight and a couple of Dutch developers on the floor. Their presence was naturally small and in no way could they possibly compete with the developers above, but they indeed got their chance to display their talent and hopefully open a door for themselves amongst Japanese gamers.

Games
A total of 462 games were on display this year which is indeed an impressive number. More surprising to me being the fact that out of those 462, 78 were for the Nintendo DS. The types of games on display varied from FPS (first person shooters) and RPGs (role playing games) to the down-right crazy aero afro game.

A short-listing of the top games from my view are listed below. Click each game title to expand.

Tenchu 4

Ushiro

Monster Hunter 3

Street Fighter 4

Biohazard 5

White Knight Chronicles

Tokyo Game Show 2008 Cosplayers

Here a SimpleViewer Flash gallery should be displayed. Click here to open the post in your browser to see the gallery.

Shirakawago is a historical area within the mountains of Gifu prefecture, Japan, famous for it`s traditional farmhouses built in a unique architectural style known as “gassho-zukuri”, meaning “like hands in prayer”.

These houses are A-framed, designed specifically to withstand the regions heavy snow fall in winter. The large attic area beneath the roof was traditionally used for cultivating silk worms and its surprising to note that the roofs were constructed without the use of nails. Some of the houses are over 250 years old and the area was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1995.

Some houses were not always originally located where they currently lay, many were in fact relocated from surrounding areas in a bid to preserve them. These days the houses are mainly used as museums, restaurants or minshuku (Japanese style bed and breakfast) and they are stunning to visit in person.

Getting There
Ogimachi, Shirakawago`s largest and most popular village is a recommended day trip from Takayama and takes about one and a half hours to get there by bus. To reach Takayama, buses and trains are available from surrounding cities such as Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto and Toyama. If time and your wallet permits it, you should definitely consider spending the night at Ogimachi village for a wonderful, local experience. If you decide to make it only a day trip, then you will need around 3 hours to fully explore Shirakawago if you don`t want to feel rushed.

Genres : Adventure, comedy, romance, science fiction

Length : 26 Episodes

Year : 2007

Synopsis
Answering the call of the Golden Race, 4 other sentient races launch into space. The 4 races known as Silver, Bronze, Heroic and the Iron Race are left to explore and expand the galaxy using their own strength and intuition. Much time has passed since then the Iron Race (humans) are threatened with extinction by the dominant Silver Race, self-proclaimed successors of the Golden Race who have long since left the universe.

In order to save humanity, Princes Deianeira embarks on a long and dangerous journey to a distant planet following the prophecies left behind by the Golden Race. Upon reaching her destination, she meets a young boy with an extraordinary power. Bound by contact to protect Deianeira and humanity, the boy, known as Age, fights to help change the fate of the universe.

Other Information
Opening Theme: Angela - “Gravitation”

Review
Heroic Age for me was one of those rare mecha animes which come along every once in a blue moon.  Most mecha series are somewhat rehashed versions of their own selves. They usually revolve around one all-mighty character - the chosen one, who seems to always come through when it counts due to some sappy emotional trigger. Sousei no Aquarion come to mind anyone?

Although the main character, Age does in fact loosely fit this description, the storyline centers not just around him but four others whom are all connected abiding by specific contracts. Due to these contracts, each character plays a unique role, struggling to overcome personal hardships which could ultimately lead to the total destruction of their individual race. Their personalities at times however are a little shallow and they don`t seem to evolve much throughout the series. A slight drawback in my opinion but nothing too serious.

The big issues I found is that the story seems overly confusing at the beginning and fails to explain The Silver Race`s hatred towards humanity. With that said, the animation and CGI are both excellent and the music compliments the series well. Furthermore, it has a powerful opening sequence and an engaging storyline, leaving you hanging for the next.

If you enjoyed Escaflowne, Seikai no Senki (Banner of the Stars) and the real time strategy game Homeworld (as the story line is somewhat similar), then I`d definitely recommend Heroic Age on the highest level.

Watch The Opening Cinematic

100 yen shops in Japan are the ideal place to shop for the budget conscious.  They stock a wide range of general items and like the name implies, everything is priced at 100 yen.  Well, actually not quite.  Everything in fact costs 105 yen due to a 5% consumption tax.  100 yen is roughly equal to $1.00 and if you ever get the chance to visit one, you will be amazed at what 105 yen can actually buy.

100 yen shops are spread far and wide across the country, found more predominantly in larger, built up areas like cities and larger towns.  The leading retailer, Daiso, has 2,500 stores in Japan, the largest being Daiso Giga Machida which spans a massive 5 stories high.  100 yen shops aren`t as common as Pacchinko parlors but are probably the next biggest thing perhaps.

Inside you can find things such as tableware, kitchenware, tools, stationary, snack food, household and leisure goods and even banana holders.  The range of items is massive but don`t let the price be deceiving.  A lot of the stock, including plates, cups, towels, slippers and socks (to name a few) are surprisingly good quality and even to the trained eye it can be difficult to spot a 100 yen item amongst other, more expensive goods - so difficult at times, there`s actually a variety show based on this.

Below are links to some of the larger 100 yen stores currently operating in Japan

Daiso

Daiso

Seria

Love bananas but always worrying they`ll get bruised or squished on your way to work?  Ever had a banana literally explode inside your bag on a hot scorching day, leaving a horrible mess to clean up afterward?  …I know I have.

The other day I was rummaging through one of many 100 yen shops across Japan and came across a huge pile of plasticy, yellow things.  A quick squizz and a few seconds to ponder over what I was looking at, I realized just what they were - banana holders! 

The idea struck me as such a simple yet ingenious idea.  I mean, bananas are soft and squishy so why not just whack them inside a plastic case in the shape of themselves.  You`re happy.  The banana is happy and for the price of 100 yen, banana holders may be the best gift ever! (…or not)

Think back to your last 700ml bottle of spirits. How much did you pay? Probably quite a bit I should think. In Australia a bottle of Jim Beam fetches for around $30 and Wild Turkey about $40 - a fair chunk of the price coming from government tax.

The price in Japan for a bottle of Jim Beam and Wild Turkey is 1,300 yen and 1,600 yen respectively. This equates to around $13.00 and $16.00! (One Aussie dollar is roughly 100 yen).  If Vodka is more your taste then a bottle of Smirnoff will set you back 900 yen ($9.00).

The reason you can buy cheap alcohol in Japan is because consumption tax is set at a rate of 5 percent for everything, unlike other countries where governments tag as much tax to alcohol as possible. The same 5 percent consumption tax naturally applies to cigarettes also. A pack of 20 costs 300 yen.

Now, how about going out to drink at a bar you ask? Things start to get a little more expensive here, rivaling prices you are probably more familiar with. On average you will pay around 500 - 600 yen per drink varying from place to place.

However many places such as izakaya`s and yakiniku shops have a nomihoudai (all you can drink) deal, giving you access to many but not all drinks on the menu for 90 minutes (Beer is always included)! The price varies from place to place but for around 1,000 to 1,300 yen you definitely won’t be disappointed. That’s right! 90 minutes all you can drink for a measly 1,300 yen, meaning you can party hard without busting your wallet.

I seriously doubt you will find a better deal than this, anywhere.

kanpaiii…!

(cheers)