Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (3DS) Teaser Trailer

I was hoping this game was coming in a Localizations, Please! segment. Now, it finally is. October for Europe and November for North America. While this teaser trailer shows no gameplay footage at all, it does shed some light on some of the story elements regarding Layton and Luke's fifth adventure together.

Animal Crossing (3DS) New Footage

At the end of the evening yesterday was a special Nintendo Direct. Well, they're all special in their own way, so that's a bit redundant. Did you know about it? ...Oh? Well, since you're such an in-the-know gamer, you probably don't even need me to tell you that in this version of the game you are the mayor and can make your town, your way, and can customize your house inside and out, and you have even more varieties of furniture to work with, do you? Then don't bother watching this gameplay footage taken directly from the Japanese live feed. See if I care!

Bravely Default: Flying Fairy (3DS) New Trailer

I am not the type of person who says things like I want to make passionate love to an inanimate object like a game or anime woman. I just don't do that. Bravely Default: Flying Fairy does, however, enchant me with its beauty. It reminds me somewhat of Final Fantasy IX. That's a really good thing, too. Here's hoping countries outside of Japan get to have some Flying Fairy floating their way.

Killer Soundtracks - My Personal Favorites, Part Five

Welcome to the final part of Killer Soundtracks - My Personal Favorites for a little while. We have been through forty of my favorite soundtracks with me cherry-picking the best pieces from each game and broaching a bit about them. Today is no different as I have ten more terrific soundtracks to share from various different platforms including the Xbox 360, the Wii, and the Dreamcast. How about we get to steppin'?

Viva Pinata (360)

I mentioned this game's sequel in my top ten list of Rare-developed games, but the original Viva Pinata was the archetype for that game. Trouble in Paradise merely built upon the preexisting foundation that Viva Pinata created to make a better game. Viva Pinata is the kind of game that harks back to when Rare was in top form. The colorful charm and wild whimsy that their past successes with Nintendo were known for shined brightly with this title. The music was beautifully orchestrated with soothing strings, majestic-at-day, tranquil-at-night themes, and quaint melodies. You can clearly hear what I'm talking about with pieces like Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Night 2, and Night 3. There's a childlike sense of wonder to each song, don't you think?

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (Wii)

A game that came out of nowhere, NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams featured a return to the familiar gameplay of the Sega Saturn classic with some adjustments in the form of new gameplay and the bad decision of allowing the two child protagonists, Will and Helen, to explore hub worlds. The new additions weren't necessary as fans just wanted pure NiGHTS gameplay. Leave it to Sonic Team to push more gameplay styles than they are fit to handle. If anything, Journey of Dreams gave players an outstanding soundtrack to listen to with songs like Eloquent Echo, Drifing Donbalon, Wandering Wildness, Electrical Entertainment, Merry Memory Go Round, Queen Bella's Ball, and the theme song for the series, Dreams, Dreams.

Chrono Cross (PS1)

Yasunori Mitsuda (Xenogears, Chrono Trigger) has yet another tremendous-sounding score with his work on Chrono Cross, one of the better PlayStation One era RPGs-- and there were a lot of them! Yes, some might argue that there were far too many extraneous party members to track down and take care of, but the world itself was enjoyable enough to explore, the story was gripping enough to be entertained by, and the music was and still is truly terrific. When you have tracks like the opening theme of Time's Scar, a brilliant boss theme in Dragon God, the sad The Girl Who Stole the Stars, both versions of the first town in the game, Arni Village with Home and Another, the shanty of Another Termina, and Forest of Illusion, how could you not get fully encompassed by Chrono Cross?

Breath of Fire (SNES, GBA)

Breath of Fire is truly a role-playing classic. It brought about a simple story of redemption, war, and dragons, an adventure-filled world, and plenty of enemies to slay. The music (done in part by Yoko Shimomura of Kingdom Hearts fame) is equally as wonderful. The Super Nintendo sound output always came off as better to me than the Sega Genesis's as most Genesis titles came off as rough and metallic. Blood Relations, Fate, Day and Night, Gentle Breeze, A Road, Battling, and Music City show off the brilliant musical minds of the composers included.

Sonic Adventure (DC)

With a new generation to be had and a transition into an all-new adventure in full 3D, Sonic Adventure led the charge and was one of the two most prominent Dreamcast launch titles, alongside SoulCalibur. Some didn't like the focus on rock of the soundtrack, but the bright and bouncy music was perfect for speeding through sparkling shores, racing down snowy mountains, and breaking all kinds of traffic laws in Speed Highway. Perhaps the best songs from Sonic Adventure include Welcome to Station Square, Azure Blue World, Windy Hill, Be Cool, Be Wild, and Be Groovy, Run Through the Speed Highway, Red Hot Skull, and Skydeck A Go Go!.

The World Ends With You (DS)

I was seriously impressed when I initially heard the sound quality coming out of the Nintendo DS systems small speakers. It wasn't the most astounding sound on the planet, but it was quite good. The World Ends With You showed many skeptics of Square Enix that they could still experiment and wind up with something good other than always heavily banking on Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. The most popular songs are generally vocal pieces like Calling, Hybrid, Someday, Emptiness and, Give Me All Your Love, Game Over, and Twister. It is an eclectic mix of music, for sure.

Phantasy Star Online Episode I and II (GCN, XBX)

Why just settle with Phantasy Star Online when you can use the whole soundtrack from the GameCube and Xbox release of Phantasy Star Online Episode I and II? Well, that is exactly what I'm doing here. We have such fabulous themes from the original Episode I like The Whole New World, Can Still See the Light, You Have Nowhere to Go, and After the Story 2; and themes from Episode II such as A Longing to Ancient Time Part 1, Tricktrack Part 1, and The Frenzy Wilds. One thing that will seemingly always stay of high quality with Sonic Team is their stellar soundtracks.

Mega Man X5 (PS1)

Mega Man X5 started the downward slope in quality of the X series. Now, X5 wasn't a poor game (even though changing up the names of the Mavericks was a stupid decision); it just paled in comparison to its predecessor. However, the music across the series has retained its superb standards of quality. This is immediately apparent through songs like Grizzly Slash Stage, Squid Adler Stage, Izzy Glow Stage, Axel the Red Stage, Duff McWhalen Stage (a callback to Bubble Crab's Mega Man X2 stage) X vs. Zero, and Sigma 2nd. Not the best Mega Man X soundtrack, but a competent one all on its own.

Mario Party (N64)

Did you really think we could go through an edition of Killer Soundtracks without a mention of Mario? How about a second coming of Mr. Yasunori Mitsuda? The man behind more dignified-- if you will-- works lent his ability to the first Mario Party game, which still holds its place as the franchise's best musical outing yet. Themes like Rainbow Castle, Tropical Island, Engine Room, Play a Mini-Game!, Hit or Miss Chance Time, Ending, and Eternal Star fill me with such happy nostalgia.

The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces (Wii)

I was very glad to find that some YouTube users had uploaded music from this grossly overlooked game in the Nintendo Wii's library. It's The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces, based off an anime. One reason that the title remains in my memory is the sensational score. Intense air battles were common for the game, and the accompanying music made the action all the more profound to play. The pickings are slim as to what is represented of the music on YouTube, so here are the available examples for your listening pleasure: First Sky Duel, Rally, Critical Briefing, VS Kaida, and VS Orishina Final Final Battle.

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Did you somehow miss a previous part of Killer Soundtracks? Shame on you! Well, no worries as I have all four previous installments listed below for your convenience. Hop to it!

Killer Soundtracks - My Personal Favorites, Part One
Killer Soundtracks - My Personal Favorites, Part Two 
Killer Soundtracks - My Personal Favorites, Part Three 
Killer Soundtracks - My Personal Favorites, Part Four

Top Ten Rare-Developed Games

Rare was one of my favorite developers around. The keyword there is "was." A couple of years ago they are completely restructured by Microsoft and turned into one of their many Kinect studios. For people who have fond memories of Rare's games, this made them very upset. But Kinect Sports and its sequel are capable Wii Sports clones, and rumor is that Rare is making a serious title for the next Xbox. While we wait to read and/or hear news of their project (Rare is known for their copious amounts of secrecy), I have a list of my top ten games developed by Rare. The company was at their heyday on the Nintendo 64, but those games aren't the only ones on this list. Let's kick it off with number ten.

10) Perfect Dark Zero (360)

Following up the original Perfect Dark with something capable is no easy task. In fact, it's almost impossible. While Perfect Dark Zero should not be said in the same sentence as its N64 predecessor, this imperfect game is still a fun-filled first-person shooter. It followed the N64 game's mission structure of having multiple objectives in a given mission to complete. Instead of just three difficulty settings, an all-new Dark Agent mode was added, offering the highest amount of blistering challenge. Turning Joanna Dark into a bratty American girl was a questionable decision, and the story was campy at best, but the actual missions were an enjoyable experience. The creme de le creme for me, however, was the robust multiplayer modes, featuring vehicles like tanks and jetpacks. The huge sprawling maps were filled with places to hide as well as camp, and taking on bots (a must for any console shooter) was a blast. Perfect Dark Zero might just be my favorite multiplayer Xbox 360 game.

9) Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise (360)

The sequel to the underrated Viva Pinata, Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise was a sequel that I didn't see coming. The original did not set sales charts on fire, even with a kids animated cartoon show as marketing. Regardless, the goal of the game was the same: create a garden and use different methods to lure various pinata varieties to your happy healthy home and coax them into becoming residents. Of course, there were numerous stipulations that needed to be addressed in order to get them to move in. Some pinata types simply don't get along, so having to create the perfect balance of pinata groups was paramount. New to this installment of the series-- alongside the several new species of pinata-- are two unique vistas-- a polar landscape and a desert landscape. I greatly like the Viva Pinata series because it sort of channels the old Rare when they had unadulterated charm and enchantment in their titles.

8) Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (360)

Originally teased as the third fully 3D platforming adventure in the series, Banjo fans had the excitement drained out of them when the final project was shown. Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts had all of the humor and personality of previous entries in the franchise. The only change-- and it was a big one-- was that instead of mostly earning Jiggies (the Super Mario 64 power stars equivalent of the Banjo-Kazooie games) through platforming challenges, Banjo needed to complete missions by the Lord of Games (or LOG). Through picking up vehicle parts strewn about Showdown Town, the game's hub world, and purchasing them in Mumbo's Garage, players could build impressive and original vehicles to the limits of their imagination. Each mission had its own objective, but the way to accomplish them was up to the player. Why push soccer balls one by one into a goal when you can place multiple balls into a vehicle sporting a huge cart and drive it into the net? That saves both time and frustration! Perhaps if the game didn't have the Banjo license plastered on it fans would have been more open to the game. As it stands, the title was yet another flop for Microsoft's Rare in sales.

7) Jet Force Gemini (N64)

Some call the controls clunky, but I found them fully functioning. Jet Force Gemini was the action science fiction adventure starring the Jet Force Gemini trio of Juno, Vela, and their precocious pooch Lupus in a quest to defend the galaxy from an alien bug threat led by the sinister Mizar. At the start of the game you choose between the three characters, each starting on different corners of the galaxy, and playing through three unique planets before reaching Mizar's Palace. Once all three have reached the palace, the battle with Mizar begins. What follows is something detractors of the game say bored and annoyed them to points of unbridled venting-- the need to go back to previous levels and enter once unreachable areas as other characters and gather all of the tribal creatures. While this can appear as unnecessary padding to some, I didn't mind this and welcomed being able to go onto past planets and explore them with the other characters. The presentation is top notch, sporting what I had listed prior as one of the Nintendo 64's best soundtracks period. And who doesn't love splattering the walls with the blood of your enemies? Does that make me disturbed?

6) GoldenEye 007 (N64)

Despite its impact on console FPS games, GoldenEye 007 still only makes number six on this list. Why? Well, number two on this list, a better FPS, is why. That doesn't mitigate the importance of GoldenEye at all. Coming out a year or so after the actual movie came out and being made for a system that the developers didn't even know the final specs of, GoldenEye made objective-based missions, limb and extremity damage, gun zooming, stealth elements, and multiplayer death matches on consoles popular for the first-person shooter genre. Many games prior to GoldenEye mimicked games like Doom and Quake, but suddenly the genre was turned onto its head. Who knew that a game that was originally devised as an on-rails shooter like Virtua Cop and had a poor showing at the E3 prior to its release would be such a revolutionary game? My main gripe with GoldenEye 007 is the lack of bots, which at the time was almost impossible to achieve with the constraints the development team had. That said, it's a reason why number two is number two and GoldenEye 007 is number six.

5) Banjo-Tooie (N64, XBLA)

Banjo-Tooie took everything that was special about the original Banjo-Kazooie and made it even bigger. Did that mean it was necessarily better? Well, that depends on who you speak to. One on hand, the worlds were interconnected this time around with multiple connections to other worlds without even having to reenter the hub. On the other hand, the game was so colossal in scope that it was sometimes incredibly overwhelming, especially when you had to bring characters from one world to another via Chunky the train. Banjo-Tooie brought back a revenge-seeking skeleton of a witch, Gruntilda, and her two sisters sporting their first and only appearance in the series. The witch destroyed Banjo's home, killing Bottles in the process. Thus, the journey to seek vengeance for Bottles was made by Banjo, Kazooie, and newly playable character Mumbo Jumbo (his Banjo-Kazooie role in Banjo-Tooie was taken by Humba Wumba). In Banjo-Tooie, Banjo and Kazooie could be separated from one another, and oftentimes this was necessary to nab otherwise inaccessible areas, Jiggies, and musical notes. The game also added a multiplayer part with various mini-games and a FPS-like mode. Overall, Banjo-Tooie was filled to the brim with things to do, maybe too much so.

4) Diddy Kong Racing (N64)

The ultimate kart racing experience, Diddy Kong Racing effortlessly outdid Mario Kart 64 in multiplayer fun, mayhem, and options. While Mario Kart had four cups with four difficulties, a battle mode, and time trials, Diddy Kong Racing showed off a brand-new concept, an adventure mode, in addition to its grand prix, battle modes, and time trials. The adventure mode was fresh as it took players across the 20+ tracks in different locales like windmill-laden plains, dinosaur-rich valleys, sun-soaked beaches, snowy wonderlands, and a futuristic planet with goal of scoring first place in all of them. Boss races were added as well as challenges where players needed to gun for first as they collected eight precariously placed silver coins. All of this led to two showdowns with the oinker of a sorcerer, Wizpig. This story-like formula would be the inspiration for another excellent kart racer, Crash Team Racing on the PlayStation. The changes to the standard kart racing genre didn't end with an adventure mode either as Rare brought in two unique types of vehicles into the mix: hovercrafts and airplanes. The items were much more balanced than Mario Kart, too. Finally, Diddy Kong Racing introduced the world to two new characters: a then little pleasant-tempered squirrel named Conker and a bird-less Banjo. A port of DKR would make it to the DS, but the forced touch screen controls simply ruined the game for many including myself. Stick with the superior original, gang.

3) Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong-Quest (SNES)

The oldest game on this list from Rare (I never did get into their NES and earlier creations), Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong-Quest is one of the best platformers on the Super Nintendo, just getting beat by both Super Mario World games and Mega Man X. The game had players controlling Diddy Kong from the previous Donkey Kong Country and newcomer Dixie Kong, who was great for beginner players as she could whirl her hair around like a helicopter to slowly descend across gaps. Like Donkey Kong Country before it, Diddy's Kong-Quest kept acquainting players with new gimmicks-- and I mean gimmicks in the good way. Not the "I don't like change so I call everything that tries something new a gimmick" gimmick. I'm talking about constant new challenges and obstacles for Diddy and Dixie to overcome on their adventure to save the captured Donkey Kong from the villainous Kaptain K. Rool. One level you'll be racing on a roller coaster, trying to reach first place in time, while another you'll be inside a submerged pirate ship, hitting a sea otter to constantly cool down the "otter"-wise scalding water. Each level consistently offers something novel to the gameplay and level design. The secrets are many and well hidden, and the presentation is some of the Super Nintendo's best. It is simply remarkable how rich the worlds come off as with the stellar backgrounds and ambient music and sound effects, water swishing and iron striking iron, for example. DKC2 is without a doubt a classic that no fan of 2D platformers should go without playing.

2) Perfect Dark (N64, XBLA)

I said number two on this list beat out GoldenEye 007 for several reasons. Well, now that you're here, why don't I shed some light on what I mean by that? Originally a game that would take light and darkness into account within the gameplay, that idea was shelved and development continued, despite the project leader leaving Rare. Many delays were had with Perfect Dark, but the end result was something that was nearly... well, perfect. Like GoldenEye 007, the mission structure was open-ended, allowing players to freely take on the various objectives (with more objectives to do being added on higher difficulties) in the order they saw fit. The story involved a conspiracy between a powerful corporation and an ancient alien race with Joanna Dark and the Carrington Institute, her employer, being smack dab in the middle of the action. It was all the foundation for the excellently designed levels and fast paced, intense action. By far the most desirable part of Perfect Dark is the immense amount of multiplayer functionality to be found in the game's Combat Simulator. The multiplayer maps were huge, filled with large areas to explore, places to hide, places to get a jump on your opponents, and areas to be wowed by. Bots were finally here, and they were available to be customized with various personalities. Some could attack you with only their fists, some would only go after the person who killed them last, and some loved explosives a little too much. The AI was also sensationally smart, too. You could easily design your own match types with enough modifications that no two types might ever be the same. Perfect Dark is my personal favorite first-person shooter of all time. Ms. Dark, you've certainly hit the mark.

1) Banjo-Kazooie (N64, XBLA)

This game was highly anticipated from Rare by owners of the Nintendo 64 and fans of platformers alike. Super Mario 64 laid the framework for how platformers should work in three dimensions, and Banjo-Kazooie took that framework, ran with it, and created an even better game. Starring a friendly but sometimes bickering bear and bird, Banjo and Kazooie start off on an adventure to reclaim Banjo's bear-napped sister who the nefarious witch Gruntilda wishes to steal her good looks from. I'm thankful old Grunty nabbed Banjo's sister or else I wouldn't have an excuse to enjoy the finely crafted, colorful, and wide open worlds of the game! The bear-bird duo learned a myriad of moves like the steep slope-climbing Talon Trot, the ability to shoot eggs from the front or (ew) the rear, and the power to fly. A supporting cast member by the name of Mumbo Jumbo could turn the pair into a multitude of animal and object creations (for a price, of course). From termites to flighty bees, Mumbo's magic allowed Banjo and Kazooie to access conditionally inaccessible areas. The Xbox Live Arcade version of the game is what I consider to be the definitive version. The N64 game had a caveat that if you perished and hadn't collected all 100 musical notes, it would only record your highest note total prior to your death and put back all of the notes in the level. In the 360 version, if you die, you do not have to recollect notes, and you can just start collecting the notes you missed (instead of having to collect ALL of them). Banjo-Kazooie is the epitome of genius Rare philosophy in level variety, design, and quality; colorful presentation and tremendous music; and terrific humor and charm.

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What are your personal favorite games developed by Rare? Do you lament the company not being as sharp as they once were? What are your most cherished memories playing games by Rare, or do they not have as much as an impact on you as they did me? Feel free to let your thoughts flow in the comments section.