The gist of this is: teacher’s been waiting three years for FFXIII to arrive, so he’s going to take some paid holiday as of tomorrow. Clearly he hasn’t mentioned this to the kids beforehand, probably hasn’t even told his wife/girlfriend. Probably doesn’t have a wife/girlfriend, come to think of it. Yes, the archetypal Final Fantasy nut. Hurrah for Square Enix, escapism and androgynous heroes/heroines! With something like 1.3 million copies ready for circulation in its first week on sale, it’s safe to say that the PS3 is the console of the moment here in Japan. It’s almost like the Good Old Days™.

1. Final Fantasy IX now available for download from Japanese PlayStation Store This was one of the better ones, right?...
2. Final Fantasy XIII Elixir spills into Japan’s conbinis *Drink not guaranteed to Restore faith in series. ...
3. Dragon Quest IX to get low-price re-release this March! If you haven't already got a copy, now there's no excuse....

Zaxxon on Wii's Virtual Console Arcade: 500 yen, out today. GET!

Just one new game released here today (because “proper” console games nearly always appear in Japan on Thursdays), and it’s not really new at all. It’s Zaxxon, the isometric SEGA masterpiece from 1982, dusted down and polished up (Samantha had to do some dirty work in the archives) and presented on Wii’s Virtual Console Arcade for a perfectly reasonable 500 yen. I prefer Sammy’s Neo-Geo effort, Viewpoint, but as you can see from the videos on Zaxxon VC’s official Japanese page, it has aged very pleasantly. A lot more so than Keith Richards, anyway.

1. Sonic Bowling spins onto Japanese phones One Hedgehog. Ten pins....
2. Eight new PS classics for PSN-J’s Game Archives Including DonPachi!...
3. Thunderforce V among new (old) delights on Japan’s PlayStation Store It's all happening down in the Archives......