Back on August 24th, 1999, Gamebits contributor Rob Boyd asked what my Top 20 RPGs were. I dutifully complied, and though he was disappointed my choices didn't reflect more modern titles such as Suikoden, he also didn't disagree with my choices, which placed Dragon Warrior IV at #2 (behind Final Fantasy II). I loved the multiple storylines and how they wove together in the final chapter, watching PCs become NPCs and reintroducing myself to them as if we were strangers and had not just shared a great quest together.

Now, the December issue of Game Informer lists a remake of Dragon Quest IV for the Nintendo DS. My jaded self prevents any excitement from building over this news, though. Such a remake was one planned — and cancelled — for the PSOne. Even if it finally comes to fruition in this handheld format, there's no guarantee that Japan will unclench this precious commodity for American release — or, if they do, that it'll be in a timely fashion. I happily poured 80 hours into Dragon Warrior VIII, but when its predecessor was already old when it arrived Stateside for the PSOne and garnered little interest from an American audience — which may've fueled the original cancellation of the DQIV remake. What a vicious circle Square Enix weaves. I can only hope this time the gamers will win out.

Computerworld has published their 2007 Holiday Gift Guide. I provided the "family fun" page, which offers hardware and software suggestions for both gaming and PC. Due to the price of Rock Band, it was my original inclination to recommend Guitar Hero III (which also has the advantage of being available for more systems). But Guitar Hero II made Computerworld's 2006 holiday gift guide, and I was already taxing my article's originality by repeating their console recommendation of the Wii. Rock Band seemed like a good compromise.

It never occurred to me to suggest Mac games, too; even though I'm a Mac user, I've never used the system for that purpose (except for Civilization II). Fortunately, editor Jake Widman neatly filled that gap.

However did this marching band get permission to do something so geeky and esoteric?