Friday Freebie: Free Blue Dragon anime for US readers, some Japanese PSP demos

Bob Dylan almost certainly was not singing about handheld gaming freebies when he crooned, "the times, they are a changin’" all those years ago. But the folk troubadour’s prosaic wisdom is apt this week, as the Friday Freebie is at a clear turning point in its evolution.

Though there’s life in the old dogs yet, the DS and the PSP aren’t the spritely young whipper snappers they once were and the wide eyed young ruffians, Android and the iPhone, are currently jostling for position. Indeed, you may have already noticed our two new features which focus on each platform.

The weekly 'appy Android roundup is the place to find out about the latest and greatest free games available on Google’s Android Market.

Of course, over here in Blighty, everything on the Android Market is free at the moment, but that little perk of island living won’t last forever and as soon as Google allows developers to start charging you’re going to need somebody to separate the signal from the noise.

Much like we already do in the Trawler Report, which is essentially the same thing as the 'appy Android roundup, but for the App Store.

And don’t forget, our weekly iPhone gaming podcast, which is also free and available every Wednesday.

As for freebies from vendors other than Pocket Gamer, things are predictably dusty over on the Nintendo Channel, but if you're a US reader and excited about the forthcoming Blue Dragon Plus, well listen up. The US iTunes Store is offering the pilot episode of the Blue Dragon anime, entitled, ‘The Shadow Comes Forth’ for free from now until March 10th. Not bad at all and a saving of $1.99.

As for the PSP, how about a new LocoRoco 2 Planet theme? That particular charm can be had from the PSP Store, but if you speak Japanese you can also enjoy free downloadable demos of Yuusha 30 and Shin Sangoku Musou: Multi Raid from the PSP Demo Center. Don’t ask us what they are about, but if you can figure it out, please do tell us in the comments.

Pretty meagre we know, but don’t worry: as soon as LittleBigPlanet comes out for the PSP we’ll have all the free levels we can eat and if that’s not a reason to be cheerful, then lord knows what is.

So on that jubilant note, we bid you farewell for another week. Remember to click ‘Track It!’ to be sure not to miss the next Friday Freebie.