Three new banners added to the rotation!

With a new season comes new banners! Three new banners have been added to the banner rotation here at SuperPhillip Central! To look at the original banners already in rotation in all their glory, check out this post. Now, without further ado, here are your new banners: collect 'em all!

The Zelda: Breath of the Wild banner

The JRPG Heavy Hitters banner

The Cute 'n Cuddly banner

What do you think, gang?

Most Overlooked Current Gen Games - Part Two

The Most Overlooked Games series has been around almost as long as SuperPhillip Central has-- seven years now. With each entry, we take a look at five of the most overlooked, less talked about games on various systems, past and present. However, until the inaugural edition of Most Overlooked Current Gen Games, I hadn't covered underrated games from the PlayStation 4 as well as the Xbox One. Obviously I already had a list dedicated to the Wii U.

Regardless, it's now time for part two where we look at five more under-appreciated games from the current generation of gaming.

Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below (PS4)

The first game on this list actually sold well in Japan. It's currently the second best selling game in Japan. However, Most Overlooked Current Gen Games factors in sales from other over the world, and in the case of Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below, the game in the west did not fare too well commercially. This game that allows you to slay slews of famous Dragon Quest monsters in a much quicker pace than you could a traditional turn-based Dragon Quest features a Dynasty Warriors style flow to battle. The lack of notable sales in the west certainly made Square Enix's decision to not localize recent Dragon Quest games seem understandable. Still, with a sequel launching on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and the Vita, perhaps Dragon Quest Heroes will get another chance to make an impact on the Western market.

Transformers: Devastation (PS4, XONE)

Platinum Games has an impeccable reputation as a developer of action titles. It's no doubt why Nintendo, Sega, and Konami have contacted them for work on projects in the past, and it's why Activision hand selected Platinum to create Transformers: Devastation as well as the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game. The newest Transformers continues Platinum Games' stupendous tradition of terrific combat, incredible boss battles, and rank-based missions. Although the game is but five hours long, the addition of different Autobots to play as with different play styles in this 3D action game increases the replay value and longevity of Devastation greatly. It all makes Transformers: Devastation one of the best games starring the robots in disguise ever created.

LittleBigPlanet 3 (PS4)

Like Transformers: Devastation, LittleBigPlanet 3 is a cross gen release. Perhaps that's why it suffers from the most glitches and bugs out of any other LittleBigPlanet game. Not the best recommendation for the game so far, is it? Don't worry, though, as outside of the technical issues that haunt several aspects of the game, LittleBigPlanet 3 contains the same immensely open level creator, offering more options and ease of accessibility than ever before. The new characters give more variety in the types of levels available, and the single player mode, now sporting cute voice acting, is a joy to play from beginning to end. It may not be the technical marvel fans have expected, but LittleBigPlanet 3 delightfully delivers nearly everywhere else.

Rock Band 4 (PS4, XONE)

Containing a highly impressive library of over 2000 songs, most coming from past iterations of the franchise, Rock Band 4 launched on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One with the reception of a missed note during the guitar solo of Freebird. Rock Band 4 was a return to form for Harmonix, who had been away from the series for a good three years. The studio and game's return to the limelight was met with great indifference. For all the goodness that is Rock Band, it seems the days of people wanting to collect a mishmash of plastic instruments and house them in their rooms are over. The game was met with critical acclaim but limited commercial success. A PC version of Rock Band 4 was on the table for development, but the campaign to get the game on there was nothing but a failed one.

Evolve (PS4, XONE)

No, in this gaming climate, having an original idea like the asymmetric multiplayer gameplay of Evolve isn't enough to guarantee sales. Whether that says something about the current state of gaming or the quality of Evolve itself is anyone's guess. The gameplay itself has four players, serving as Hunters, having a first-person perspective while the single player, the Monster, has a third-person perspective. The goal is for one side to take down the other. Certainly, the developers did themselves no favors with the grotesque number of different downloadable content available for the game. This aspect alone turned off many potential players and buyers of the game. Despite selling strong out of the gate, Evolve's sales suffered hugely in the following weeks, proving to have no sales momentum whatsoever. Perhaps the criticism from some corners of the net cut off the game's tail. Regardless, Evolve is an innovative experience like none other with highly competent gameplay and fun asymmetrical goodness.

Localizations, Please! Tokyo Game Show 2014 Edition

Welcome to Localizations, Please! This reoccurring segment on SuperPhillip Central takes games that, as far as I know (I do as much research as I can muster, but I'm definitely imperfect), have not been confirmed to be coming out in my neck of the woods, North America. If this were baseball, I'd have a good batting average regarding how many games I request for that end up getting localized. Let's hope the same is true, so the games on this special Tokyo Game Show 2014 edition don't stay stuck in Japan!

Dragon Quest Heroes (PS4, PS3)

At Sony's pre-TGS conference, Dragon Quest Heroes was saved for last. It really was awesome to see a Dragon Quest game, of any type, mind you, coming to a PlayStation platform after all of these years. However, Dragon Quest Heroes is not meant to be a mainline game. It doesn't have turn-based battles or anything like that. Instead, it's noted more and emphasized as an action game first and foremost. The game is under development by Omega Force, a development team within Tecmo-Koei who has a history of Musou games under its collective belt. The most recent of which is Nintendo's own Hyrule Warriors.

Dragon Quest Heroes has a nebulous release time of simply 2015 for both the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation 3. Not only am I personally eager to learn more about this game, but I am eager to learn of localization for the West, such as North America, Europe, and Australia.

Final Fantasy Explorers (3DS)

Well, this title is very familiar... Oh, yeah, I just posted the Tokyo Game Show trailer for it earlier this evening! All coyness aside, Final Fantasy Explorers takes the series into cooperative multiplayer action against monsters and creatures that should be easily identifiable to anyone who calls themselves a fan of the franchise. Take over the role of one of many job classes, battle with friends, and defeat beasts both big and small in this Monster Hunter-influenced game. Impressions from TGS say that Final Fantasy Explorers is most similar to Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles than anything else seen in the series before. This makes Phil a happy boy, and you can probably imagine what would make me even happier-- a localization announcement!

The Great Ace Attorney (3DS)

With a premise that is as intriguing as the series's commonly mysterious court cases, The Great Ace Attorney is a game in the Ace Attorney franchise that takes the series's chronology into the end of the 19th century, decidedly much earlier than fans were expecting! The Great Ace Attorney centers around an ancestor of the usual protagonist for the series, Phoenix Wright. Not only that but Phoenix's ancestor comes across the brilliant detective Sherlock Holmes and even teams up to solve a climactic case. The Great Ace Attorney will thrown in all of the improvements and additions to the series that Dual Destinies debuted, making this one Ace Attorney game that I cannot afford to miss out on!

Fatal Frame V: The Black Haired Shrine Maiden (Wii U)

While The Great Ace Attorney is all but a lock for localization, Fatal Frame V: The Black Haired Shrine Maiden for the Wii U isn't at all. Now, some might surmise that with the release of Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir in the West that Nintendo is interested in getting the Fatal Frame franchise outside of Japan. Then one could argue that since the Wii U is desperate for any type of game right now, a localization of Fatal Frame V would be a smart bet. That said, ever since Nintendo started bankrolling installments, the main games have yet to see a release outside of Japan. From the Nico Nico presentation of the game in mid-July, Fatal Frame V looks to a mightily scary game that would be a terrific addition to the Wii U's lineup and overall library.

PoPoLoCrois Bokujou Monogatari (3DS)

If PoPoLoCrois sounds any bit familiar to you, it's probably because the series has been around for a quite awhile, most recently having a PSP entry. Already from has been shown, the series's aesthetic has been transported over to the 3DS splendidly! PoPoLoCrois Bokujou Monogatari will have traditional command-based RPG action, an enhanced presentation, and a marvelous world to explore. This game has XSeed Games localization written all over it, and I would definitely enjoy the chance to try it out. Maybe next summer if the Japan release comes out soon?

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There you have it-- five choices for games that I would love to see localized. What about you, dear reader? Which titles with no localization announcement for your location would you like to see/hear/read/etc.? Give me a holler in the comments section!

The 50 Best Nintendo DS Games - Part Five

Amidst all of this Nintendo Wii U coverage, I have something that I hope doesn't get lost in the shuffle. Why, it's the fifth and final set of ten of The 50 Best Nintendo DS Games. We've gone through forty of the top titles of what I consider to be the greatest handheld of all time. Now, we have reached the home stretch. It's all smooth sailing from here. If one of your favorite DS games has yet to be listed, perhaps it will be a part of these final ten games! As a reminder, no non-North American releases will be represented on this list. There are great games that missed a North American release date, and seeing as the majority of DS systems out there aren't region-locked, be sure to track some down, too. With that out of the way, let's get to the final ten!

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn

It was a long wait between Golden Sun: The Lost Age and Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. That lengthy period of time made the wait for the game unbearable and they hype for the third installment to be impossible to satisfy fans. While I did enjoy Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, I do not hold it up to be in the same league as both Game Boy Advance prequels. However, both Golden Sun prior to Dark Dawn were in an echelon of RPGs that were quite high in my opinion, so it's sort of hard to achieve that level of greatness. Regardless, what we got with this sole DS installment was an incredibly capable RPG with wondrous puzzle elements. In the case of exploration, the tradition of using magic (Psynergy) outside of battles to solve said puzzles was a fascinating approach to things, and a cool tradition of the Golden Sun series. One of the main problems people have with Dark Dawn is that for the majority of the game, the battles were relatively easy. I can recall only having a real tough go of it with the final boss, and that was a sharp increase in difficulty from past battles. Regardless, what the sum of all of these parts equaled was a superb role-playing game with lots to admire and enjoy.

Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime

An action-adventure game and a spinoff of the Dragon Quest JRPG series, Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime pits players into the form of a Slime named Rocket as he ventures around the wilderness, defeating foes, helping out fellow Slimes, and shipping back important items and objects to his hometown of Boingburg. Rocket Slime consists of two types of gameplay. The first has Rocket moving around outside Boingburg in search of Slimes and objects to send back to his hometown. Slimes sent back to Boingburg reward Rocket with new items and town functionality. The other type of gameplay has Rocket and his tank doing battle with an opponent and his tank. The goal here is to insert ammunition into one of two cannons and fire them at your foe. However, your adversary is doing the same thing. If two objects crash into each other in midair, they fall to the ground. Things can get overwhelming in a jiffy as you multitask between inserting ammunition to fire, protect your tank from being invaded, and coming up with a plan to enter your opponent's tank. In all honesty, Dragon Quest Heroes was my first introduction to the Dragon Quest series. It made me interested in acquiring as many games from the franchise as possible, even if I sadly don't have the time to play them.

Contra 4

Even though this DS entry is named Contra 4, it was actually the eleventh installment of the franchise. The numbering structure was meant to make it the sequel to the NES and SNES Contra games. It also celebrated the 20th anniversary of the franchise in 2007. WayForward, the minds behind Shantae and Mighty Switch Force, were the force behind Contra 4. The game was a wonderful homage to classic Contra games, offering familiar stage and enemy types, the old school means of upgrading weapons, and other clever touches. There were three difficulties to play through, though the Easy mode did not give the player full access to the game's ending or final levels. In addition to the campaign, there was a Challenge Mode, where players completed various levels with the goal of accomplishing certain tasks. Unfortunately, Contra 4 never made it into PAL territories, including Europe and Australia. However, PAL DS owners could thankfully import the game and play it on their systems thanks to no region-locking. While the game is certainly challenging, Contra 4 gives off a brilliant sense of nostalgia and old school game design philosophy -- and I mean that in a positive way.

Dragon Ball: Origins

Before I get into admiring this game, there was some confusion regarding the tagline of my review for Dragon Ball: Origins. If you carefully examine the box art of Origins, you can see Puar (the green cat-like creature) seemingly looking up the skirt of the blue-haired girl, Bulma. Nonetheless, this first Dragon Ball game for the DS featured controls similar to both DS Zelda games. But unlike those two titles, Dragon Ball: Origins allowed the player to move around with the d-pad. I remember being incredibly impressed by the graphics of the game, the 3D models especially. I appreciated the charm and gameplay Origins possessed, and there was quite a bit of humor as well. One particular scene shows Bulma lifting up her skirt, exposing herself completely. However, the space between the two screens of the DS obstruct the player's view of this. Humorous moments like these run rampant throughout the game. Even as someone with a passing interest on the lore of the Dragon Ball universe, I found myself really enjoying Dragon Ball: Origins. A sequel would be released on the same system a year or so later.

Kirby Super Star Ultra

What I think is the ultimate version of the Super Nintendo classic, Kirby Super Star, the Nintendo DS system's Kirby Super Star Ultra contains all of the content of its original game plus several new additions. You still have Spring Breeze to breeze through, Dyna Blade to defeat, the Gourmet Race to run, The Great Cave Offensive to mount, the Revenge of Meta Knight to face the titular character's fury with, Milky Way Wishes to explore the vastness of space, and The Arena to get your inner gladiator on with. Adding to the bargain collection are Revenge of the King, a more challenging Spring Breeze; Meta Knight Ultra, where Meta Knight takes over for Kirby and plays through several of the collection's titles; Helper to Hero, where several helper characters take the lead; and The True Arena, where every boss in the collection is faced one by one. The value of this package is absolutely immense. While I prefer Kirby: Canvas Curse for its pure innovation and interesting gameplay more, Kirby Super Star Ultra is definitely a Kirby game to track down for DS owners.

Super Mario 64 DS

One of the most influential 3D games in gaming ran and jumped onto the Nintendo DS game scene right at the new system's launch, Super Mario 64 DS. It was not a mere port, but instead it was a fully realized remake with thirty bonus power stars to track down, noticeably improved visuals, new playable characters, and several new (but bite-size) levels to partake in. On the matter of new playable characters, players started off with newcomer Yoshi before unlocking new characters like Mario, Luigi, and Wario throughout the game. Each character had their own unique abilities to shake things up and make switching between characters important for the player's success. Also included in Super Mario 64 DS were several multiplayer modes and a sampling of touch screen-centric mini-games. Now that the little caveat of having to use the d-pad to control Mario and friends in a 3D space has been remedied by simply playing the game on the Nintendo 3DS, I consider the DS game to a terrific supplement for the Nintendo 64 original.

Sonic Rush Adventure

Expanding on the ideas of Sonic Rush, Sonic Rush Adventure adds some... well, this is too obvious... adventure elements into the game. Rather than simply going from one act or zone to the next, players spend time traveling to each zone via waterbike, sailboat, hovercraft, and submarine. Some might call this padding, but I consider it to be something to add some more longevity to the game. Each of the four aforementioned ways to traverse in or on the water control through different methods, spicing up things. There are two playable characters in Sonic Rush Adventure, the needless to say one because it's so apparent, Sonic, and Blaze the Cat, returning from her debut in Sonic Rush. There are seven or so zones in Sonic Rush Adventure for both characters to play through, and each character has their own set of emeralds to gather. Sonic obtains his through winning races against Johnny, one of the antagonists of the game, while Blaze needs to complete a series of missions to gather hers. Only through obtaining all fourteen emeralds can the player try out the final story elements. Sonic Rush Adventure contains a large amount of high speed platforming fun that shows that Sonic still has some semblance of a groove.

Chrono Trigger

Chrono Trigger is without a doubt one of the most cherished RPGs in the history of gaming. It offered such a change of pace from other rivaling RPGs of that time period. Rather than run around in dungeons and randomly get into a battle, players moved around maps and could see enemies and decide if they wanted to run into them to battle them. And instead of encounters taking place on a separate battle screen, they took place within the same field/dungeon map. If you've played and/or owned the Super Nintendo version of the game, you might be wondering what is the point of getting the DS version. That is a competent question without a doubt. A fair reason to own this version is the sheer portability of it. Fighting against Magnus aboard the bus to work, or venturing through a fantastical forest while waiting in between classes made for some fun. But most importantly, the DS version brought to the table all of the content of the PlayStation 1 disc, such as anime cutscenes, but it left out the long loading times. A new translation for the game was made specifically for the DS version, as well as dual screen capabilities, showing a map on the bottom screen that fills itself in as you run about, and several new arena challenges. Is it the definitive version of Chrono Trigger? You bet your sweet Lucca it is.

Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver

Remaking a large amount of Pokemon fans' favorite Pokemon games, Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver brought the land of Johto to Nintendo DS players worldwide. The game is so legendary  because after you have become a great Pokemon master in Johto, you most likely think your adventure is just about to wrap up when it has only just begun. The entire land from Pokemon versions Red, Blue, and Yellow, Kohto, makes it reappearance for players to traverse, capturing more Pokemon, obtaining more badges, and challenging more trainers. Both versions of this remake of the second generation of Pokemon games contained a Pokewalker within the box. One could grow their Pokemon simply by walking. Trading and battling between Pokemon was also a notable feature within the two games, offering Wi-Fi functionality. Besides the obvious new addition of improved visuals, the other new elements of Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver compared to its Game Boy originals make these two games a must have for any aspiring Pokemon master.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Also available on iOS devices (though I do not know if that version has all of the content of the DS game, so please let me know), Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective takes adventure gaming to supernatural heights as players take the role of a spirit named Sissel. Switching between the Land of the Living and the world infested with ghosts allows Sissel to manipulate people's actions and environment and allow him to possess different objects within his reach to give him access to new areas and proceed through the game's levels. While in the Land of the Living, time moves normally, but in the ghost world, time slows to a stop. Sure, there is a lot of trial-and-error involved in the gameplay, but once you get the feel of things and figure out the solution to a given level, a smile will beam from your face. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is exactly the kind of game that I enjoy seeing on handhelds and smartphones. It simply seems sensationally suitable for those types of platforms. If you like puzzling adventure games outside of the norm, Ghost Trick just might do the... trick.

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And there you have it. That concludes the fifty best Nintendo DS games currently available on the market. We've laughed, we've cried, and perhaps we've even learned a thing or two along the way. I hope this list has encouraged you to seek out some DS games that you might not have thought about before. As for me, all this list did was make me want to replay a bunch of these titles!

Next Thursday will mark the start of a brand-new 50 Best list. This time around we will be focusing on the Wii, as the Wii U's release approaches. It will be five straight Thursdays of Wii gaming goodness, a console whose library is so often ignored. We'll catch you here later!