The Club Nintendo service in Japan works relatively simple; buy lots of Nintendo games, go online to Club Nintendo and enter the codes from the games you bought, and then finally, select the items you want and wait until they come in the mail. Sounds simple, but considering a lot of the cool items cost around 500 points and an average game lands you a whopping 35 points, there’s a lot of game buying needed to get the good games before their gone. Lucky enough for gamers everywhere, some people are always looking to make a buck, so the internet is always likely to have a few copies for sale that any aspiring collector can try to track down and PG's even managed to get a few Club Nintendo items from time to time as well. Last year when PG managed to track down a copy of Tingle's Balloon Fight, Pinky G and Jumpman sat down to debate the games’ finer points.

Don't let Tingle's innocent eyes fool you, this game is hard to keep grounded.

Most gamers remember the NES classic, Balloon Fight, where the player controls a 'balloon fighter' and by pressing the ‘a’ or ‘b’ buttons the players’ character raises or lowers and to defeat enemies the player must land on top of them. Tingle's Balloon Fight is no different, except everyone's favorite Zelda character Tingle becomes the player’s character, much to the delight of children everywhere. The DS version features updated graphics from its 8 bit predecessor and DS download play for 4 people as well as fancy box art and that cool little Club Nintendo logo on the bottom of the box. Contrary to the rumors floating around all over the internet, Pink Gorilla has not stared in his own game of a similar nature as of yet, no matter what he claims. Thanks to Jumpman for the tip on this developing story.

Good old classic LCD gaming from back in the day.

PG has actually managed to get a few copies of this next exclusive Club Nintendo DS game the Game and Watch Collection, featuring three classic games, it's not a bad little collection. Containing Game and Watch classics Oil Panic, Donkey Kong, and Green House, this little DS cart packs an alarm clock built in to the game so the hours don't fly by too quickly. The real mystery of this collection is why Nintendo decided not to make a complete collection of Game and Watch games considering their small size (as evident in the 2 line dot codes used on the GBA eReader) so that hardcore fans could have all the games in one place. Even offering only three games, each game does have different modes to keep Game and Watch fans happy trying each combination in an attempt for perfection.

More Game and Watch gaming goodness.

The second DS Game and Watch Collection features Parachute and Octopus, as well as a new version of the two mixed together. A little more elusive than the first Game and Watch Collection for the DS, it is a great start for all those DS collectors out there. The second Game and Watch Collection once again brings up the question of why Nintendo decided not to make a complete collection available for fans of the series, but there is still hope for the future.

The music of Super Mario Galaxy on a compact disc in high quality, what more could a gamer want.

Many gamers no doubt enjoyed Super Mario Galaxy, from its new and innovative control scheme, to the new Mario upgrades, and of course, the great musical score. Mario has graduated from the midi sounds that a lot of orchestrated game music uses in place of a real orchestra, and the result is apparent. The music in game is a fantastic mix of genres and this soundtrack is no different, featuring a range of music from the game. The CD features 28 tracks and comes with the reflective CD cover and that trusty little seal of exclusiveness, the Club Nintendo logo. For a quick peak at the great music from the game, hit the play button for a look behind the scenes at the recording of the Super Mario Galaxy soundtrack.

With Club Nintendo coming to North America very soon, US gamers are about to have a chance to hopefully get their hands on some of the items showcased above. With no details about what the North American version of the service will be like and whether or not the exclusive DS games will make their way stateside, many gamers are no doubt curious as to what will be available when the service launches. Stay tuned to Pink Gorilla for the latest on Club Nintendo as new items hit the service in Japan and North America.