Let’s Create! Pottery is about exactly what you think it is. It’s a pottery making simulation. You are given a wheel and a cylinder of clay and must use the DSi stylus to shape it. Once you are happy with it it can be fired and painted and decorations added. When you’re pleased with the final result, you can fire your glaze and then either save your piece in a gallery or auction it off to earn coins to buy more colours, patterns, and clays from the shop. Initially you will get commissions from in-game characters where you must match your piece to the provided photograph as exactly as possible. Don’t expect to be able to get the full 10 stars for every piece, though. The game’s controls are finicky enough to make getting full marks on everything pretty much impossible.

The commission section of the game is also incredibly short. You get to fashion about a dozen pots for others before it’s over, leaving you with no more goals to work towards. All that’s left is the zen experience of making pots. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it gets dull fast.

In all, Let’s Create! Pottery is a nice game while the appeal lasts. Unfortunately that is a fairly short span of time unless you just really like making virtual pottery for no other reason than for the enjoyment of it. The beautiful graphics and soothing forest sounds make for an excellent relaxing game, but for $5, the amount of content is seriously lacking.

The race of noble dragons was once hunted by mankind for the powerful gems they protected. A fierce battle raged against humans and dragons. Eventually the noble dragons emerged victorious, however, they were severely weakened. The fallen dragons took this opportunity to plunge the dragon world Tammabukku into an age of darkness that would last 100 years. Now a you, a young descendent of the noble dragons, must recapture the powerful gems the fallen dragons stole and become the new Dragon Lord.

It all sounds a lot more exciting than it ended up being.

Battle of Giants: Dragons is basically a fighting game. You explore 3 areas in each of the 4 different regions of Tammabukku, the air, ice, fire, and earth regions, battling every dragon you encounter. Two of these dragons in each level hold special elemental gems that allow for more and more powerful attacks, depending on whether you equip the gems that match your dragon’s element. At the start of the game you can choose one of the four elements, each of which has a special ability (regeneration for ice and wind dragons, poison for earth, burning for fire). You get to customise your dragons appearance (my favourite part of the game) and will unlock new body parts and colours as you go. Once you clear all 12 levels as one element of dragon, you must choose another until you’ve played through as all 4 dragons. There is also a multiplayer feature in which you can pit your dragons against your friends’ with up to four players battling in turns.

Everything is controlled with the stylus. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but button controls would have made a lot more sense for a fighting game as they would allow for a more complex system of battling. As it is, the game is too simplistic. To battle, you simply attack, dodge, or block. Once you attack you must tap on the gem you want to use and then connect the dots on the screen to do damage. Outside of battle you are given goals in the field. Basically you fly around the map and burn crystals to unlock new areas or get the bad dragons to appear. Every now and then you get to smash a crystal instead of burning it, but don’t expect to get to do that too often. That would be, you know, too much variety. So as you can imagine, after the first dragon, things get pretty repetitive. Sometimes the levels are even exactly the same. There are hidden bosses in each level that can spice things up a bit. The game will pit you against things like a UFO, a robot, or a set of drums. But if you’re like me you’ll find this ridiculousness ruins the atmosphere of the game and simply skip those battles.

The aesthetics are by far this game’s best attribute. The dragons and backgrounds aren’t the best on the DS, but they are very beautiful- as is the music. They obviously put a lot more effort into the visual and audio aspects than into gameplay, and it was the awesome animations and pleasing aesthetics that made this game enjoyable for me (apart from the fact that I just REALLY love dragons).

This game seemed to have such enormous potential to really be amazing, and it was frustrating to find out that it didn’t exploit any of the opportunities it had to be great. Between stylus controls limiting the complexity of battle and the dull tasks to complete on the map, the game just fell flat. Though I actually did enjoy this game disproportionately to its quality. The simplistic gameplay and high repetition would be a turn-off to most players, but I would recommend it to both kids and those (like me) who just love to watch pretty dragons fly around and beat the crap out of each other.

The French company Neko Entertainment (French company with a Japanese name? Huh?) was putting together a retail puzzler called DodoGo, yet for some reason or another, the game ended up being split in half and offered as two DSiWare downloads: DodoGo! and DodoGo! Challenge, both of which are big fish in a small pond- outshining most other games available in the e-shop.

It’s a tropical island in the time of the dinosaurs, and the dodos are in danger! A tidal wave has swept over their nests and scattered the eggs all over the island and adjacent islands, and it’s all up to you to get them safely back to their nests. But the diabolical Caiman Vinicius has his eyes on some eggcellent dinners, and goes about setting all the animals on the islands against the eggs.

If you’ve played Mario vs Donkey Kong: March of the minis, then you’ll be familiar with DodoGo’s gameplay style. You are given a certain number of tools to use on each of the 160 normal levels and 32 bonus levels that comprise DodoGo! and DodoGo! Challenge, which you must use strategically to get the eggs in the nest and in a good mood. With these tools you can alter the landscape in order to avoid hazards that will lead the Dodo eggs to their doom and ultimately, their extinction (though you kind of have to wonder what the point is when they went extinct anyway). The ways in which you manipulate the stages are nearly endless. You can blast, burn, cut, spring, dig, smash… the list goes on and on. And not only are there hazards in the landscape, but some levels contain the animals that Vinicius has pitted against you. These animals must either be avoided or used to your advantage. You are awarded medals based on your performance at the end of each level. The goal is to save at least one egg in each level, though you must save all of them to get a medal. In the bonus levels you control an automated robo-egg. Your goal in these is to collect all the targets scattered about in order to unlock goodies like new avatars, disguises for your eggs and jokers, which can be used to skip the exceptionally nasty levels.

The game is played using all touch controls, though the D-pad can be used to scroll about the area (or the ABXY buttons if you’re left-handed), which is extremely helpful as you work on the many tricky puzzles.

As far as aesthetics go, the game is very pleasing. The stylised cel-shaded graphics and catchy music fit the goofy theme of the game. The soundtracks during the actual levels do a good job of staying in the background and not getting annoying if you’re struggling for a long time on a particularly devious puzzle.

Their are a few drawbacks, though my gripes are small. The controls usually go smoothly, but can be touchy, especially when you need to stop an egg from blundering into a hazard. They won’t always respond to your commands which led to quite a few do-overs. DodoGo also had it’s fair share of bugs. Sometimes an egg would die but I could still see it there, though it was like a ghost and completely unresponsive to any commands. Also in Dodogo Challenge, one of the cutscenes seemed to be missing its sound. Then there are disguises that you can equip to your eggs to make the experience extra-silly. The disguises are different in DodoGo! and DodoGo! Challenge, yet in Challenge when you equip a disguise, it appears in the levels as one of the disguises from the first game. It may not impede your puzzle-solving, but it is slightly annoying.

DodoGo! is a game full of charm. Those silly, laughing eggs can’t help but make you smile as the roll and bounce about the levels to their nests. Not only that, but it’s a challenging game that will stretch the limits of your creativity and ability to think outside the box. Though the initial tutorial levels go a bit slowly, you’ll soon find yourself immersed in a wealth of tricky and varied levels that really require your best thinking cap to get through. And the replayability is high because you’ll want to keep doing levels over to get the highest score on each. While it does have some drawbacks DodoGo! is by far the best and most fun puzzle game I have ever played. It’s well worth the $8 (plus $5 if you want to pick up Challenge as well) and then some. I have a hard time figuring out why this didn’t become a retail game, because it’s certainly more than good enough.

Shantae: Risky’s Revenge

In the sequel to the popular Shantae, we revisit Sequin Land for more ponytail action. The original installment was for Gameboy Colour and is virtually non-existent today, so don’t feel bad if you’ve never heard of it before. I hadn’t. But now we deprived people can enter the Shantae universe and enjoy all it has to offer.

Shantae is a half-genie bellydancer employed as the guardian of her home, Scuttletown. Things are peaceful… but only for about the first two minutes of the game. Risky Boots, once thwarted by Shantae is taking her revenge by stealing a very important artifact- a magic lamp- from Shantae’s uncle. Now Shantae must race (or dance) to find the three magical seals before Risky does so that the horrors within the lamp will not be unleashed.

Shantae is an action/ adventure platformer with RPG style exploration and freedom of movement. You control our hair-whipping half-genie as she explores the areas and dungeons around Scuttletown in search of items and seals, learning a few new tricks along the way. It features old-school style gameplay but unlike most old-school games, it’s not incredibly frustrating for those who weren’t playing in that era (like me).

One minor gripe is that it really doesn’t take advantage of the two screens. The action is on the top screen while the bottom screen is taken up either by an item list or an absolutely useless map.

The graphics may look Gameboy style at first, until you see Shantae move. The animations are incredibly fluid and the scenery beautifully detailed. What’s more, the environments (in a few areas, anyway) are layered so that you can see baddies moving around on the next plane in the background of the plane you’re on.

As far as controls go, they’re smooth as silk. Most of what you do will be button controlled. The addition of some touch-screen commands, however, feels awkward and out of place, not to mention annoying. To equip an item you have to tap on it. This can get hairy when you’re fighting and dodging on the top screen with hordes of enemies surrounding you and you have to look at the bottom screen to quickly switch out items. A button control for this would have made a lot more sense.

The only other gripe- which may not even be perceived as a gripe to some- is the obscurity of where to go next, most often in the dungeons. Characters will give you clues as to the next big step if you’re so inclined to talk to them, but generally you’re going to get lost a lot and have to criss-cross dungeons trying to figure out where the heck you go now. Many might see that as a refreshing challenge, though, and not mind a little elbow grease when it comes to finding their way.

In all Shantae was a thoroughly enjoyable game. It and Dodogo! are the most professionally presented games with the most polish in the e-shop. It really feels like you’re playing a retail game instead of a download. While Shantae may be rather short and more expensive than any other DSiWare game, I don’t regret one penny of the $12 I spent on it. This is very rare for me to say, and usually reserved only for Pokémon and Zelda games, but I think I’m going to play this one again.

#1- Okamiden

This is the one I am anticipating most. Primarily because it’s a sequel to my favourite game, Okami but also because it’s the kind of game that can really benefit from touch-screen controls (considering it’s gameplay is based on fighting by drawing with a brush). Clover Studios closed down shortly after Okami’s PS release, but it seems that Capcom has decided to resurrect it. It takes place a few months after Okami and will revisit some old areas of the original game as well as brand-new ones. You control Chibiterasu, son of the sun goddess Amaterasu. Also, Spirit Tracks style, you will control various companions of Chibiterasu as well by drawing a path for them to follow on the touch screen. Zelda rip-off? Probably. No, definitely. But perhaps that’s why I like Okami so much, since I’m a big Zelda fan. The graphics look absolutely stunning, and will be in the same sumi-e style as the original Okami. My only reservations are the ‘cutesy’ look they’ve given it. Considering that the original was such a dark game, it doesn’t seem like an adorable little puppy fits in that world. Also, there’s no way that Okamiden- being a DS game- can be as massive as it’s playstation/ wii counterpart. That was one of the things I liked about Okami- the vast maps and near endless side-quests. It’s likely that Omakiden will be a much smaller world. however, it also looks like it is going to be a lot of fun.

#2- Rune Factory 3

I’ve been following this one for quite a long time. Since it was first announced, I think. I have been a fan of the Rune Factory series since it’s first game in 2007 (which, to be honest, I thought would be awful when I first heard about it, but tried it anyway and was very pleasantly surprised). After the tedium of Rune Factory Frontier for the wii, I am glad to see the series returning to the DS. The series basically crossed Harvest Moon -a farming sim- with deungeon crawling. You play through a storyline while farming and fighting, cooking, forging, getting married, and taming mosnters. The biggest new feature in RF3 is that the main character, Micah, is both human and monster, and can switch between forms with a ‘transformation belt’. The only monster form they’ve shown thus far is a sheep, so I’m hoping there will be others. My biggest gripe on this game is the character design of Micah. When I first saw it, I was overjoyed. ‘Finally!’ I cried ‘A female lead for a Rune Factory game!’ That is, until I read the description beneath the image. Micah is indeed male. A very very effeminate male. -_-* Since part of the plot involves courting and marriage, being a girl and playing as a male can be strange and awkward. ‘Which girl do I want to marry…. hmmmm, that guy is pretty cute. Blast, I can’t marry him!’ Even so, as bad as it is to play as a man (and a man that looks like a woman) I still love this series and can’t wait for the new instalment.

#3- Harvest Moon: Twin Villages

No, I cannot understand a word of this commercial, in case you were wondering. The Harvest Moon series is infamous for milking their games for all they’re worth. It seems like a new one comes out twice a year at least. And more often than not, it’s just the same game in a new skin. But here are some reasons why I’m anticipating this particular instalment.
-Better more Rune Factory-like graphics
-A new irrigation system for your crops (watering every day gets very dull)
-New animals that you can keep, like alpacas and honey bees
-A pet owl that can fly you around
Shallow reasons, perhaps, but I’m a sucker for this series, so oh well. The graphics are the main draw for me, mostly because of the anime-style drawings of the characters as opposed to the usual chibis. It’s hard to be attracted to a chibi-man who looks more like a small child than an adult. It will also be refreshing to have animals other than cows sheep and chickens. Other Harvest Moon games have indeed had a wider variety of farm animals as well, but there was usually something about them that made me not want to play them (such as HM DS cute, the controls were confusing to me and the graphics weren’t much better than the GBA). So even though this is likely the usual overdone Harvest Moon story, it is still something that I hope to pick up once it comes out.

#4- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Sorry that the blog is cutting of the edge of this video.
I am both excited and skeptical about this one. The first thing I noticed was that the graphics are much simpler than Twilight Princess. This has really disappointed me. It may seem shallow that I’m placing so much emphasis on graphics rather than gameplay, but being a visual artist the art side of video games is important to me. Not that I don’t like simpler graphics- I love the cartoony style of Wind Waker and I have greatly enjoyed some old pixelated games. But for a big series like that to take a step down in visual appeal… But what has me excited is the new motion control system (which I have the feeling is the reason for the downsizing of the graphics. This motion control is likely tasking up most of the disk space. Let’s hope the story isn’t also downsized). Here’s a little about it:

‘The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword introduces full motion control enabled by the Wii MotionPlus accessory, which synchronizes player movements with Link’s actions while offering intuitive play control.

With the Wii MotionPlus accessory, every movement of Link’s sword matches the player’s motion with exact precision. If players motion left to right, Link swings from left to right. The precision play control is applied to enemies as well, as players must contemplate strategy when battling opponents that actively try to defend against attacks. ‘
-IGN

I’ve the feeling this is going to call for some quick and clever movements on the player’s part. Considering my bad reflexes and lack of coordination, I am wondering if this is really the kind of game I’d be any good at. I played Twilight Princess for the gamecube, and so can’t say what the wii motion controls on it are like, but it looks as though they’re going to be much more complex for Skyward Sword, and I can’t wait to try it out. Is in 2011 yet?

#5- Pokémon Black and White

I’m not too sure about this one, actually. The graphics look nice, but rather dizzying. I’ll be keeping an eye on it, but you can’t really keep making the same game over and over and just introduce new pokémon (I can’t even keep track of them anymore) and some new multiplayer features. It needs a bigger draw than that (even though Harvest Moon does pretty much the same thing, but I’m not sick of that one yet). I don’t know much about Black and White yet, so I won’t make judgements. I just hope it’s not another Diamond/ Pearl disaster.

Gameboy Colour:
Pokémon Yellow
Pokémon Silver

GameCube:
Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles
MarioKart: Double Dash
Super Smash Brothers Melee
Pokémon Colosseum
Pokémon XD

Gameboy Advance:
Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
Pokémon Sapphire
Pokémon LeafGreen
Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town
Golden Sun

DS:
Final Fantasy III
Final Fantasy IV
Pokémon Diamond
Pokémon HeartGold
Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Nintendogs
Rune Factory
Rune Factory 2
Time Hollow
Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth
Spore Creatures
Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days
Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness

Wii:
Super Smash Brothers Brawl
Rune Factory Frontier
Okami

—
Best Multiplayer: Super Smash Brothers Brawl/ Melee

Graphics that Blew me Away: Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days

Best Soundtrack: Okami

Best Real-Time Gameplay: Okami/ Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker/ Super Smash
Brothers Brawl

Best Turn-Based Gameplay: Golden Sun/ Pokémon HeartGold

Cutest Game: Nintendogs

Game that made me go SQUEE the most: Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town

Hardest Game: Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Easiest Game: Time Hollow

Most Monotonous Game: Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass/ Harvest Moon

Most Interesting Concept: Rune Factory Series (Farming + Dungeon Crawling)/ Kingdom Hearts Series (Final Fantasy + Disney)

Best Storyline: Okami/ Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Most Sidequests: Okami/ Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

Best Boss Fight: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Twilit Dragon: Argorock) / Okami (Orochi- 1st visit)

Scariest Boss Fights: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Most Fun Dungeons: Okami

Most Epic Adventure: Okami

The Ones I Found Most Addicting: Pokémon HeartGold / Rune Factory

Cheesiest Storyline: Final Fantasy IV

Lamest Character Design: Pokémon Diamond

Best Character Design: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Most Full of Bugs: Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town

Game that made me go WTF? the most: Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth

Most Bizarre: Spore Creatures

Saddest Video Game Moments [SPOILERS]: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (When Zant injured Midna) Okami: (When Issun is left Behind at the Ark of Yamoto) / Kindom Hearts: 358/2 Days (when Roxas leaves the organisation)

Most Touching Video Game Moment: Okami (cutscene during final boss fight)

Overall Favourites:
Gamecube: Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
Gameboy: Pokémon Sapphire
DS: Rune Factory 2
Wii: Okami

Games I would most like to replay: Okami / Pokémon HeartGold

Game I was surprised was excellent when I thought it would be lame: Rune Factory

In-depth reviews:

Half a year after moulding it, I FINALLY got around to painting her! A buffamoo from the game Rune Factory. The buffamoos are my favourite monsters. You can’t beat a cow that looks like it’s going to eat you. My cat actually broke this shortly after I took these photos, and I had to glue it back together. Luckily the paint hides most of the cracks.

I wouldn’t want to milk this one…

And yeah, my paint jobs suck. Acrylics hate me. I much prefer using watercolours, but they don’t bind well to the clay and flake off easily, even after being sprayed with fixative. Too bad you can’t paint these thing with oils…

EDIT: Got the background tutorial up!!