Gamertell

Okay, if you want to get a truly special, import gift for your favorite PSP owners, time is limited. There are only a few weeks left till Christmas, Festivus and other December holidays. Luckily, if you order within the next two weeks, you should get imported presents with plenty of time to spare.

Since there’s been a bit of a PSP game draught concerning North American games, this year is probably one of the best years to do some importing. Japan hasn’t been experiencing the same game trickle. Memorable titles were released this year, and maybe there’s one for your special someone.

Title: DJ Max Portable Clazziquai Edition
Price: $49.90
Genre: Music
Import Friendly? Definitely. It has an English language option
Perfect for…? Fans of Guitar Hero, DDR, Rockband or Elite Beat Agents.
What’s it about? You have to hit notes by pressing the correct buttons as indicators move from the top of the screen to the bottom. There are many button modes (which increase or decrease the difficulty), different game modes and over 40 songs, with some by Clazziquai. There’s also a story mode where you earn DJ points by completing challenges at certain clubs.

Title: Bleach Soul Carnival
Price: $48.90
Genre: Action/Platformer
Import Friendly? Pretty much, since its basically an action game.
Perfect for…? Fans of side-scrolling action games, similar to Streets of Rage.
What’s it about? Ichigo and crew are going around Karakura Town defeating Hollows and Arrancar that keep showing up. Really, that’s all you need to know.

Title: Neo Angelique Special
Price: $48.90
Genre: RPG/otome/girl’s dating sim
Import Friendly? Its very text heavy, so it isn’t for people who don’t know katakana, hirigana and some kanji.
Perfect for…? Girl gamers who enjoy RPGs, visual novels and strong stories.
What’s it about? Angelique lives in Arcadia, a world which has lately been plagued by vicious creatures called Thanatos. She learns that she is one of the few people in the world who can defeat the Thanatos, and joins up with a team of men to save her world.

Title: Dissidia: Final Fantasy
Price: $58.90
Genre: RPG
Import Friendly? Since it hasn’t been released yet, its uncertain how import friendly it will be. Since the focus of the game is fighting, it shouldn’t be too difficult to play if you don’t read Japanese. One thing though - since it comes out December 18, 2008, if you decide to order it as a gift you should preorder now (to make sure you get your copy) and choose the fastest shipping option. That way you know it will arrive on time.
Perfect for…? Final Fantasy fans who also like fighting games. Old Ehrgeiz fans might be interested as well.
What’s it about? Its still a bit fuzzy, since the game doesn’t come out until December 18. Basically, its a fighting game with characters (one villain and one hero) from almost every Final Fantasy game.

Title: Yuusha no Kuse ni Namaikida Or 2
Price: $39.90
Genre: Retro-style sim/action/puzzle game
Import Friendly? You may be able to guess your way through if you know some katakana or hirigana, but people with no knowledge of Japanese will probably have some troubles.
Perfect for…? People with some knowledge of Japanese who love simulations and spending a lot of time crafting perfect dungeons.
What’s it about? You play as a demon lord who creates dungeons filled with monsters to try and decimate heroes who come to try and defeat you.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Portables assembles a list of possible DS import game gift ideas.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables celebrated its 50th column with a list of 50 reasons gamers love Japan.

Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop]