In 2025, Final Fantasy IX, one my all-time favorite games, celebrated its 25th anniversary. Luckily for me, I just so happened to be in Tokyo when a special exhibition commemorating that occasion was being held! From development materials that had never been displayed before to exclusive merch, it was definitely a dream come true for a fan of the game. Read on for my full recap!

The Final Fantasy IX 25th Anniversary Exhibition ran for a short time from November 22 to December 7, 2025, with tickets available for advance purchase, as well as at the door, for 1,800 yen per person. Each ticket came with a random Tetra Master-style sticker featuring one of the main characters that was given to you when you went in.

I attended on Tuesday, November 24 with an advance ticket, and I was glad I had one because there was quite a line to buy tickets at the door. When I arrived right at opening at 11 am, there was a slight line for pre-purchased ticket holders, but within 5 minutes or so, I was in!

Upon entering, you were immediately greeted by some concept art and an introduction. Since people were tending to crowd this space and the staff were asking for us not to block the entrance, I moved along quickly to the character introductions with concept art. I don’t believe any of the character art in this section was new, but it was definitely fun to see it all on display, and so big for the character art!

After the main characters were more minor characters such as the members of Tantalus and Queen Brahne, followed by monsters, weapons, environments, and Eidolons. The Eidolon section began with a large screen playing videos of each of their summon animations, which was a nice touch!

In the interest of not completely overloading this article with photos, I made a little collage of some of my snaps so that you can appreciate the vibes. Clearly I have a thing for moogles, because I took photos of them whenever they appeared!

There were many design documents that were just sketches or text on white paper that unfortunately didn’t photograph well, but I definitely could’ve spent hours in there reading over everything.

I would be remiss not to share full-sized images of some special sketches and comments by Hideo Minaba, the art director for Final Fantasy IX, though!

One of my favorite parts was the photo spot featuring a replica of the Excalibur II sword in Memoria and an overlay that made it look like you were in a battle from the game. This is the closest I’ll ever get to Excalibur II by far… To get the sword in the actual game, you basically have to do a speedrun wherein you get to the game’s final dungeon within 12 hours. Of course, I had to get a picture!

In addition to content from the game, the exhibition also featured art from Vivi and Grandpa’s Memories for the Sky, which will be released in English in May 2026.

This was followed by a couple walls of fanart, along with fan comments. Then, as you neared the exit, there was a room with the ending credits playing, along with some special messages from staff, and the sheet music for “The Place I’ll Return to Someday.” I won’t lie, I got teary-eyed!

After exiting the actual exhibition, there was a wall of fan comments, which I of course had to add to!

Finally came the gift shop, where I’d say I reached a pretty good middle ground between being mediated and excessive. Here’s my haul:

Of the items I got, the Kuja plushie and desk mat weren’t exclusives, but they’re both items I’d been wanting to pick up for a while. The remaining items were exclusive to the exhibition (see the full list of items that were available here). The moogle save book book cover is particularly adorable!

I also got a special paper bag as a bonus for spending over 5,000 yen. Unfortunately, as I mentioned in this video, the quality of the screenshots they used was pretty low, so you can see the artifacting in the art. I would’ve much preferred something with concept art on it, but I can’t complain too much, considering it was free!

While much of the concept art on display was things I’d seen before in books and online, it was great to see it all together in person with the new additions along with other fans at the exhibition. It’s a shame it only ran for such a short time, as I would’ve recommended any fan of the game who found themselves in Tokyo go check it out!

The post Final Fantasy IX 25th Anniversary Exhibition Recap appeared first on Chic Pixel.

In honor of Silent Hill f‘s release last month, Konami hosted a limited-time popup for fans to experience food, props, and decorations inspired by the game in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, CA. The event, called A Taste of Ebisugaoka, ran from September 27 to October 19, 2025, and while I didn’t plan to make a special trip to Little Tokyo for it, I happened to be in the area for a concert, so I took the opportunity to swing by!

The most comprehensive information that I was able to find about A Taste of Ebisugaoka in order to plan my itinerary for the day was on the official Little Tokyo Instagram account, which shared an event map styled like the map in the game, images and descriptions of all the special food and drink on offer, and some additional information in the post’s description. Along with the limited-time food and drink, the Metro station was decorated with Silent Hill f graphics, and Little Tokyo was transformed into a setting evocative of Ebisugaoka with dark red flowers and official promotional imagery.

Two additional stores, Hypland and World-8, had themed decor, as well: Hypland had photo ops such as large fox statues and the Sakuko monster, which I had the opportunity to see (from afar) at Anime Expo, and World-8 was covered in Silent Hill f decals and had a super cool press kit on display, complete with puzzle box and replica fox mask.

The first day of the event kicked off with live music and exclusive giveaways, and there was a stamp rally that would net you a copy of the Silent Hill f steelbook… If you were lucky enough to go early enough to participate. They even had Silent Hill f-branded Metro cards, but those were also long gone by the time I went.

Venturing Into the Horrors

So, what did I get up to? Well, I happened to go on a Wednesday evening, so one of the cafes was already closed, but I was able to try the Spider Lily Latte and Ara-Abare at Cafe Dulce, along with the Agura no Hotei-sama mocktail, Divine Water cocktail, and Ayakakashi skewer at Far Bar. Fun fact: all of the promotional imagery I saw for the event called it the Agura no Hotei-sana mocktail, which is definitely not correct…! Despite the typo, this pomegranate agua fresca was actually my favorite of the themed items I tried. The Spider Lily Latte was a rose latte, and it had a nice, mild flavor, but I’m more of a coffee girly in general, so I wouldn’t have ordered it if it weren’t for the special menu.

Of course, I also had to stop by the Metro station and wander around Little Tokyo to take a look at all of the fun decorations. Unfortunately, Hypland is only open three days a week for some reason, so I wasn’t able to go in and see the statues up close. Apparently, this was also where you could get the Metro card and a Silent Hill f tote bag, but I only ever saw that shared on Hypland’s Instagram account with no real information about it aside from the text “free with purchase” (Did you get both? One or the other? How much did you need to spend?) I actually posted a reel about the event on Instagram and someone commented that they waited 3 hours to get in, only to have the store close before they were able to. How disappointing…

I also took photos and videos of some fun Silent Hill f decals at Far Bar and World-8. Far Bar had a pile of the stamp rally maps, so I picked up one of the pamphlets for posterity, even though the stamp rally was long over. Check out a scan of the pamphlet below:

Final Thoughts

Since I didn’t make a special trip to go to Little Tokyo just for this event, and I’m honestly thrilled any time there’s a nerdy popup outside of Japan, my overall expectations for this weren’t super high. In that sense, I definitely enjoyed my time, but I would’ve liked the opportunity to get some kind of freebie sticker, poster – something! In Japan, themed drinks at cafes often come with special branded coasters. Something along those lines would’ve been fun to get as a memento. I saw complaints on social media that all freebies were gone after the first day, and if that was the case, it sounds like they severely underestimated the amount of people who would turn up for a Silent Hill event.

In addition, information for this event was surprisingly hard to come by. While the list of food and drink was shared on Instagram, exactly food and drink were being served where was much harder to figure out than it should’ve been. Only while I was writing this article did I notice that the relevant stores were actually tagged in the images of the Instagram post about the event.

Not only was that information very easy to overlook, but the amount of concrete information available only in images, including the full descriptions of the food and drink collab items, is an accessibility issue, as well. I honestly couldn’t find any actual text descriptions of the collab items anywhere official!

All in all, I’m very glad I was able to attend the A Taste of Ebisugaoka event without making a special trip, but I think I would’ve been a bit disappointed if I had traveled into Little Tokyo just for it. I’m definitely on board with games doing in-person promotional experiences, and I hope to see more in the US in the future. Hopefully, future events can provide clearer information and more things available throughout the full event period.

The post A Taste of Ebisugaoka Silent Hill f Event Recap appeared first on Chic Pixel.

If you’ve been following this site for a while, you’ll know that I am a huge fan of the Hobonichi Techo series of planners from Earthbound creator Shigesato Itoi’s lifestyle company, Hobonichi. I’ve been using them every year since I got my first one in 2017, and love looking at what other users do with theirs for inspiration, as well as official Hobonichi Techo communications for the latest news and insights.

So, you can imagine my excitement when Hobonichi announced that they would be bringing their meetup event, the Meeting Caravan, to Los Angeles! There were to be two sessions at the stationery store Hightide Store DTLA, and applications were open on the Hobonichi website for a period in September. You read that right – due to the limited number of spaces available, there was an application/expression of interest process you had to go through to be considered for attendance!

Of course, I immediately jumped on a chance to apply – while I don’t live in the immediate LA area, it’s not all that far from me, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to talk about the Hobonichi Techo at an in-person meetup! The questions were pretty general, and standard – how long have you been using the techo for, what is your age/gender, etc. I had no idea how many people would apply, but I submitted my application, crossed my fingers, and waited… Until I received an email notifying me that I got in!

It’s wild to think that 12 years after my first blog post about the Hobonichi Techo and 8 years after I took the plunge and picked up my first techo, I would have the opportunity to meet with Hobonichi staff and other enthusiasts in an official Meeting Caravan meetup in Los Angeles. To be honest, I was a little nervous – though the event is welcoming to users of all walks of life and meant to be an information exchange, not a “look how great MY Hobonichi is” contest, I couldn’t help but feel worried that my Hobonichi wouldn’t look cute enough, have enough entries filled in, etc.

Despite my trepidation, I resolved to bookmark a few of my favorite pages to share (knowing that there was a chance they’d be photographed and shared on the Hobonichi Techo website), pack up some of my favorite journaling supplies, and try my best not to be too anxious.

Since I’d never been to Hightide Store DTLA before, this was also a great opportunity to check out what they have to offer, which I must say, is quite a lot! The adorable store opened 30 minutes before my Meeting Caravan session, so I went in early to look around. They were having a Hobonichi Techo popup that was surprisingly well-stocked, so I picked up a Cover on Cover from the 2026 Tamagotchi collection that I’d been eyeing, and ooh’d and aah’d over all of the things in the store until the event was about to start. If you’re ever in the area, I highly recommend checking out Hightide Store DTLA for Japanese stationery and quirky gifts!

The event was held in a corner of the store with a large, rectangular wooden table, so when it was time, I wandered over and checked in. The Hobonichi staff gave me a blank piece of paper to write my name on and decorate before things got started. There were lots of stationery products from the Hobonichi website available to try out, so I got straight to work. What do you think? Can you tell I like coffee?

When it was time to kick things off, the main Hobonichi staff member running the event gave a little presentation about the Hobonichi company itself, which provided some interesting background for those of us who primarily focus on the Hobonichi Techo. I always forget they have this whole other side to the business where they post daily articles and general lifestyle items for sale. It reminded me that I should check it out more! (That side of things is only available in Japanese)

Attendees were then each given an opportunity to talk about how we use our techos and share any of our favorite pages or products that we journal with. Unfortunately, despite the fact that the event allowed for 6-8 attendees, only 3 people actually showed up, including me… Classic LA, right?

Despite there only being 3 of us, plus the 2 Hobonichi staff, we had lots to talk about! I really enjoyed hearing each of the other 2 attendees talk about their history with the techo and how they use it in their daily lives. All of us brought our past journals, too, so it was great to see so many techos in one place. You wouldn’t be able to tell there were just 3 of us from this stack, would you?!

One thing that I didn’t consider was how this event inspired me to go back and look at my old techos, some of which I haven’t flipped through since I finished them. The first Hobonichi Techo I used in 2017 was during the final year of my PhD, so flipping through that brought back so many memories of late night edits, sprinting to get it done…

And I also can look back and see how much my method of using the techo has changed. I don’t write daily tasks in it anymore, primarily because I’ve found using digital task systems works better for me, and I am currently using a Day Free Hobonichi Techo because I don’t like feeling like I’ve “missed” days.

One of the attendees showed us how she puts little stickers or manga printouts in pages where she didn’t have time or energy to write and said that when she looks back, it reminds her that it was a busy time. I think that’s a lovely way of thinking of it, rather than just seeing a blank/near blank page and feeling bummed out that you “missed” or “skipped” it. I’m not sure if or when I’ll switch back to a daily Hobonichi Techo, but if I do, I will definitely try to use that mindset!

It was also really fun to see everyone’s supplies and compare covers. Check out this epic use of the Stappo pouch for supplies!

After we all shared our experiences, there was free time to chat and try out the different supplies the Hobonichi staff brought along. It was so much fun! While I started off really nervous about sharing my techos, I found that as soon as I started talking with everyone, that nervousness melted away. There really was no judgement, and I could feel that everyone just loved talking with other journaling and stationery fans.

At the end of the 90 minute session, we took a group photo, and each attendee received a little gift! I didn’t expect this, as attending the event was more than enough, but it was a very sweet gesture from the Hobonichi team.

All of the Hobonichi Techo Meeting Caravan events from around the world are catalogued on the official website, so you can see photos and recaps of past events there. At some point in the near future, my LA event should be added too, so I will add a link here when it’s posted! While I don’t know if any of my techo photos will make an appearance, it’s still cool to think that something I went to will be immortalized on the official Hobonichi website after all these years writing about and sharing the techo myself.

The best part of the event was definitely talking to the other attendees, and we all shared our Instagram handles with one another to keep in touch. I hope there will be even more in-person Hobonichi Techo meetups in my future!

The post Hobonichi Techo Meeting Caravan, Los Angeles Event Recap appeared first on Chic Pixel.

There are a lot of things from our childhoods that don’t hold up when revisted again as adults. Nostalgia can paint some things with a rose-tinted lens, but there are certainly plenty of things that hold up with the test of time, even when we’ve grown older and more discerning.

For me, one game from my childhood that absolutely holds up is the Squaresoft-developed shmup Einhander. Side-scrolling shooters were far from my usual fare of RPGs, but one day my mom gifted this funky little game with a ship on the cover that I’d never heard of before. Although the hand x-ray on the start menu creeped me out (what can I say, I was a sensitive kid), I was immediately drawn in by the extremely cool music and futuristic cityscape in the opening level.

Instead of playing Einhander by myself, like I did for most games, my mom and I played it together. Since it’s a single player game, we took turns, passing a controller back and forth whenever one of us was shot out of the sky. And let me tell you, we were shot down often. Even if it weren’t super catchy, I’d still have that opening level’s initial operatic-like vocalization in the soundtrack memorized due to the sheer number of times we repeated it.

I think the furthest we ever got was the boss of level 2, and even as an adult I haven’t been able to get much further than that playing on a standard console (save states would definitely come in handy, though!). I still have flashbacks to the mole-like level 2 midboss jumping into the air and knocking me out the sky…

Despite countless deaths and retries, playing Einhander with my mom remains my favorite memory of us gaming together. Apparently, she just saw Einhander at a game store and and thought it looked cool. Definitely a risky strategy, especially back in those days! But Squaresoft had a solid track record, and even their first foray into the shmup genre turned out to be a well-made, memorable title that certainly stands the test of time.

Oh, and I can’t say enough good things about the soundtrack! It’s absolutely worth a listen, even if you don’t play the game. But you definitely should, even if you need to share the controller with a shmup-playing friend.

The post Memories of Einhander appeared first on Chic Pixel.

If there was anything that could get me to brush the dust off of this blog, it would be a Katamari Damacy collaboration cafe. Running from July 25 to September 2 at TOKYO PARADE goods & cafe in Shibuya PARCO, it is exactly the kind of thing that makes me wish I could just hop on a train and go – thus making it the ideal subject for a Japan Envy post!

To my knowledge, there has never been a Katamari Damacy collab cafe since the game originally came out for PlayStation 2 in 2004. We’ve already passed the 20 year anniversary, so what’s the special occasion? I’m not sure, but I’m sure not complaining!

The official cafe website includes a full list of menu items and exclusive merchandise that will be available in the store from July 25. At just four meal items, it’s a little on the light side, but the cafe makes up for it with three desserts and a whopping eight Prince and cousin-themed drink items.

I was immediately taken by the cold rainbow Prince pasta (pictured above). Is there any description regarding what the actual flavor is? Nope! The King of All Cosmos, who appears to have written the descriptions of all of the menu items at the cafe, coyly suggests that you won’t know what the rainbow flavors are until you give it a try for yourself. The only clear description for this pasta is that it’s cold. Does it look like an appetizing food item? No! But yet I am strangely drawn to it…

Now, the Cousin Miso soup and katamari-style onigiri plate actually looks fun, as well as appetizing. You actually get a description of the onigiri flavors: edamame and salmon, cheese and okaka (bonito flakes with soy sauce), and nikumiso (meat with miso sauce). Yum!

Too bad the Cousin Miso soup bowl does not come with the cost of the meal. While I’ve definitely seen collaboration cafes have menu items that let you take the plate/bowl/etc. it comes with home with you, the Katamai Damacy collab cafe website clearly states that you’ll need to buy it separately in the merch shop should you desire to take one home.

Speaking of merch, this wouldn’t be a collab cafe without a range of super cute exclusive items to pick up! From t-shirts to stickers, a thermos, and even a King of All Cosmos-shaped konpeito (sugar candy) jar, there’s plenty of items I’d love to get my hands on. My favorites are the shaker keychains and magnetic candy tins.

Returning to the food and drink menu, I absolutely love the design of the jelly parfait featuring the lovely Prince and King of All Cosmos. Is there any indication of what the flavors or other ingredients are aside from jelly? No! I’m getting blueberry vibes from the image, but that’s all I can really glean… Perhaps there’s a mini macaroon on there, as well?

In terms of drinks, none of the sodas really stand out to me – you have your Prince melon soda float, a strawberry float, a cola float… But Cousin Miso gets the spotlight once again with a “chocolate coffee milk,” which looks a lot like a modified affogato (perhaps with coffee jelly?) to me. You sure you don’t want to put that in the desert section? I could be totally wrong about this one, but my gut (or should I say stomach) says affogato. And if it has coffee in it, you bet I’d try it!

Now, if you’re lucky enough to make it to the Katamari Damacy collab cafe, not only would you get one of eight special coasters for every item you order, every 3,000 yen you spent at the merch store would net you one of 11 random stickers! Like most collab cafes, it’s strongly recommended that you book online in advance, and you’ll even receive one of four Katamari Damacy paper crafts for doing so. Perhaps it’s for the best that I won’t be able to make it to this one, because I don’t think my wallet – or stomach – could handle it!

The post Japan Envy: Katamari Damacy Collab Cafe appeared first on Chic Pixel.

As a fan of crafting and cute DIYs, I have been amassing a small collection of wooden Rolife dioramas. But though adorable, they seemed rather intimidating, so I never actually tried to put one together…until now! With the help of my model kit-savvy boyfriend, I was finally able to see what the assembly was like for one of the cutest kits in my backlog: the Rolife Dark Castle DIY Dollhouse Box Theater.

The dollhouse box theater series is a really neat concept, as each kit comes with an LED light to illuminate the scene within the box once completed. They all also feature a little drawer for storing your trinkets in, because why not? The dark castle kit looks more like a cemetery to me, but the description says it’s meant to evoke the garden of an ancient castle, so I’ll roll with that.

Regardless, I loved the spooky vibes of this kit, from the ghost peeking out from next to the tree to the crow sitting on the crate of bones… Very gothic, and perfect for Halloween! What could go wrong?

Right off the bat, I’ll fully admit that my boyfriend (and podcast co-host!) Marcus did 80% of this build. I contributed by cutting, gluing, and sanding from time to time, along with the requisite moral support.

The Dark Castle Dollhouse Box Theater comes with glue, a tiny screwdriver, tweezers, batteries for the light, and a color booklet with diagrams and written instructions. Marcus, who has experience following instructions for model kits from various companies from Bandai to Kotobukiya, was disappointed to find that the instructions had numerous errors, with at least one of the images drawn incorrectly, making assembly very confusing at points.

There were also numerous typos and generally confusingly written sentences, making it difficult to parse at times. As a wooden kit, there was quite a bit of cutting pieces out of sheets and sanding them for assembly, and, unfortunately, the fitment was poor, requiring extra finagling to get the parts to fit together properly.

I hate to be so negative, but I’ll be honest – if I had been doing this kit by myself, I most definitely would’ve given up halfway. As it was, even with the pair of us working together, it took us nearly 4 hours to complete this kit – a far cry from the 1 hour advertised on the front of the box!

Aside from issues with the instructions and fitment, the project itself was finicky to assemble even at the best of times. For a company whose about page describes how they advocate for integrating DIY into our daily lives and the importance of the concept of “slow life,” they sure made a frustrating DIY kit!

I would have at least appreciated a difficulty rating, or more honestly in the time that it can take to complete such a kit (it did, however, say it was recommended for ages 14 and up). I fully admit that I don’t have as much experience in these types of building kits, but after getting a second opinion from my boyfriend who does, I think it’s safe to say that the kit could easily be polished to create a more smooth, enjoyable building experience, starting with the instructions and ensuring the parts fit together properly.

(Note: I picked up this kit from a Kinokuniya store in California, and it came with the glue required to complete it. But after poking around on the Rolife website, I noticed that they just published a whole article about why kits shipped directly from them in China do not contain paint and glue. So, if you want to make sure your kit has those items, just be aware that you’d need to grab it from a local reseller.)

When everything was said and done, we did manage to complete this adorable little window diorama project for Halloween. I just wish the process had been a bit more fun so we could look back on the project fondly, rather than with frustration at the forefront of our memories!

If you really like the design and have lots of patience and more than a couple of hours to dedicate to building, then I certainly won’t dissuade you from picking up this kit, but I can’t wholeheartedly recommend it.

Unfortunately, this experience left me even less likely to try taking on one of my other remaining Rolife wood dollhouse kits. That being said, with how cute the designs are, maybe I’ll have to enlist the help of Marcus again in the future when the Dark Castle experience is no longer fresh in our minds.

The post Rolife Dark Castle DIY Dollhouse Box Theater Review appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Anything can happen on Halloween, and this year at Chic Pixel, I’m joining in the 31 days of horror movie challenge! Well, since Marcus and I will be doing it together, it’s technically a Pixel x Pixel challenge, and I thought it would be fun to share with all of you in case you would like to give it a go, too.

Broadly, the challenge consists of watching a different horror movie every day of October, but you can watch as many or as few as you want. Or, perhaps you want to watch two one day and skip the next? Go for it!

Our list is made up of movies that were on Marcus’ and my mutual watch list, Marcus’ personal watch list, a few things we’ve been wanting one another to see, and one we want to watch together. We couldn’t keep the list down to just 31, so there are are few alternates that can be swapped in or just added on if we’re feeling adventurous.

Finally, there isn’t any specific order to this list, and we’re likely going to pick and choose based on what fits the mood and the window of time we have to watch for the day. Films that have an M next to them are ones that Marcus has already seen, while A marks ones I’ve watched before. Feel free to check out the list and join in if you’re interested, or share what films you’ll be watching!

We’ll be posting short reviews in the Chic Pixel Pals Discord, so be sure to join if you haven’t already. To sign up, just fill out this form to receive an invite. I’ll also publish a roundup of highlights (and possibly lowlights…) here on the blog at the end. Happy watching!

The post Pixel x Pixel’s 31 Days of Horror appeared first on Chic Pixel.

The Takarazuka Revue, Japan’s all-female theater troupe, has been historically difficult to access for foreigners. While they have performed around the world since the troupe’s first performance in 1914, the most recent US performance was in 1992 according to the Takarazuka Wiki. Tickets are available to purchase online for their in-person performances in Japan, but there’s nothing like the fancy subtitle glasses some shows use if you don’t know Japanese.

That’s why the livestream announcement for Cosmos Troupe’s Casino Royale -My Name’s Bond- was met with such excitement, as it marked the first time a full Takarazuka Revue performance would be streamed for an international audience. And with English, Korean, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Indonesian, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Thai subtitles, at that!

The show chosen for the livestream was the farewell performance of Casino Royale -My Name’s Bond- featuring Cosmos lead members Suzuho Makaze and Hana Jun at the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater. Not only was it the last time the revue performed this show, but it was also Suzuho Makaze and Hana Jun’s last show before retiring from the revue.

Of course, when the livestream was announced, I knew I absolutely had to attend. I grabbed a ticket from the livestream service Beyond Live for $27, which granted me access to both the livestreamed show and the “re-stream” held on a later date. While the re-stream only had English subtitles, as opposed to the full list of subtitle options, it was held at a much more reasonable time for someone in North America than the original livestream, so I ended up watching that.

Based on Ian Fleming’s original debut James Bond novel, Casino Royale -My Name’s Bond-‘s general plot would be familiar to anyone who has read the book or seen other adaptations, but from my basic knowledge of the original, the Takarazuka Revue version made some interesting changes of its own. In this version, the story takes place in 1968, during the Cold War. James Bond is tasked with going to Paris and using his gambling skills to cut off a Soviet spy called Le Chiffre from his source of funds and capture him alive.

Aside from the difference in time period and real-world events referenced, I believe this is generally the same overarching plot as the book. But the Takarazuka version adds the descendants of the Romanov family, who also happen to be at the Casino Royale where this all goes down, and the Romanov princess Delphine is targeted by Le Chiffre for her inheritance after he loses to Bond. Rasputin also (kind of) makes an appearance, along with a crazy Nazi scientist, Dr. Zweinstein, who laments being overshadowed by Albert Einstein.

The Cosmos Troupe is known as being the more advent-garde of the Takarazuka troupes, so I suppose this is par for the course for them, but I certainly wasn’t expecting to also get a recurring song about dolphins.

The show, which lasted over 2.5 hours including a 5-minute intermission, was still a real treat, particularly with the casino sequences and the gambling themes in decor and costuming. At one point, there was even a giant roulette wheel and table that Bond and Le Chiffre sing and dance around!

The English subtitles in the re-stream started off surprisingly strong, but I did notice some issues with the translation and editing, particularly in the second half. One memorable example was Bond saying he was “invisible” instead of “invincible”… I don’t know how the other languages fared, but a slightly higher level of polish would be appreciated, particularly since the performance would have a script to reference and work from in advance.

The Beyond Live streaming service also had a chat function, and it was awesome to see so many fans talking about the performance. I didn’t check out the chat too often, but I’m glad to know there were other people in the world watching who were equally as bemused by the dolpin song as my boyfriend and me.

As a whole, Casino Royale -My Name’s Bond- had everything I love about the Takarazuka Revue: talented women playing attractive men (nothing against the actors playing the women, aka musumeyaku, I’m just being honest about my preferences here!), enthralling musical performances and choreography, and outrageous storytelling.

While Casino Royale wouldn’t be my first to go see in person, as I’m not really a fan of James Bond stories, I’m just thrilled we got anything outside of Japan! Unfortunately, the VOD is not available for streaming or purchase, so I can’t recommend anyone go out and watch it unless you want to import the rather expensive Japanese DVD or blu-ray, which wouldn’t include subtitles. It would be great if they considered releasing the subtitled version in a more permanently watchable format in the future.

Speaking of the future, according to The Japan News, a Takarazuka Revue official stated that they would be analyzing the performance of this first livestream endeavor and then evaluating the potential for future streams. I sincerely hope they decide to do more, as it was a real treat to be able to watch the Takarazuka Revue outside of Japan.

With the Revue planning to run their version of the 2022 hit Telugu film RRR from February to April 2024, I wouldn’t be surprised if that goes to streaming services, as well. It certainly would be wonderful if we didn’t have to plan trips to Japan anytime we wanted to go see a Takarazuka Revue show!

The post Takarazuka Revue: Casino Royale -My Name’s Bond- Livestream Review appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Naoshi, the sand artist I recently met at Takumi Alley, has just launched a Kickstarter campaign for a picture book called Tako Knows! Follow the short but endearing life of Tako, a tako (the Japanese word for “octopus”), through 88 pages of colorful illustrations designed to bring joy and humor to readers of all ages.

Naoshi writes that after learning that some species of octopi’s lives can be as short as two years, she was “struck by their strength to live out their lives in earnest” and thus was inspired to write a picture book about a tako living its life to the fullest. I love the vibrant colors and whimsical themes in Naoshi’s art, and Tako Knows definitely excemplifies that. Plus, it’s all the more amazing when you realize all of the art is created from colored sand!

While the Kickstarter was already fully funded within a four hours of launching, there is still plenty of incentive to back, including a stretch goal where all backers will receive two postcards with their other rewards!

The picture book itself is $20, but there are a plethora of add-ons to choose from, including an art print of “The Great Tako Wave” inspired by “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa,” a sticker sheet, washi tape, and even a sand art DIY kit.

To learn more about the various tiers available to backers, check out the official Kickstarter page. The campaign runs through June 14, so hopefully we will see even more exciting stretch goals in the future!

Naoshi can also be found on her website, Etsy, and Instagram.

The post Tako Knows Picture Book Kickstarter appeared first on Chic Pixel.

When you’re a butch lesbian that’s attracted to other butch lesbians, it can be hard enough to find a girlfriend, but for Meiri Hiranishi, an awkward otaku college student with no dating experience, things seem near impossible!

Meiri Hiranishi’s debut manga, The Girl That Can’t Get a Girlfriend, is an autobiographical story based on comics she posted over the years to her Twitter, Webtoon, and Tapas. Meiri is a Japanese woman living in the US who longs to find a hot, short-haired girlfriend à la shojo anime heroines such as Sailor Uranus, but her awkward attempts at finding love all end in failure. That is, until she travels to Japan for the summer and meets Ash, an American teaching English in Japan.

The pair share a whirlwind month-long romance until Meiri has to return to the US to finish college, but their long distance relationship ends abruptly when Ash breaks things off. Unable to move on, Meiri struggles to try to win Ash back and find happiness for four long years.

Perhaps a more appropriate title for this manga would be “The Girl That Can’t Keep a Girlfriend,” since the majority of the story focuses on Meiri’s relationship with Ash from their initial meeting, tentative flirting, and declarations of love over the span of one month to their breakup and Meiri’s broken heart.

The initial couple of chapters focus on introducing Meiri and her tastes in women, establishing herself as a shy, insecure otaku, which fit with her depiction as a round, goofy caricature (whereas all of her love interests look straight out of shojo manga). Her embarrassing attempts to get a girlfriend, such as when she tries to go femme in order to win a butch woman over, make it clear that she grapples with her own self-worth and feels the need to change herself to appeal to others.

While there’s a lot of sweetness and fun interactions throughout the story, particularly when Meiri meets and starts dating Ash, the core issues she deals with as a lesbian woman struggling to find love and self-worth will tug at your heartstrings, whether you can directly relate to her problems or not.

Still, it’s all dealt with a witty sense of humor and self-awareness that keeps things from feeling too heavy. It’s also worth noting that Meiri wrote the entire English script herself, and her language feels right at home to someone active on the internet in 2023.

The Girl That Can’t Get a Girlfriend is a look at the life and relationships of a single woman, and the stakes may feel comparatively low to some, but in a world where we need more of all kinds of queer stories, from the happy to the sad, extraordinary to mundane, it is well worth the read. I particularly appreciated the evolution of Meiri’s perception of herself over the course of the manga and seeing her finally get to the light at the end of the tunnel. I look forward to reading more of Meiri Hiranishi’s work in the future!

The post The Girl That Can’t Get a Girlfriend Manga Review appeared first on Chic Pixel.

If you have an interest in Japanese stationery, you’ve likely heard of Midori, a paper products company founded in 1950. They produce everything from stickers to letter sets, and are well known for their MD Paper line of notebooks, which are celebrating their 15th anniversary this year.

As part of the anniversary, Midori has released an updated line of MD notebooks, a series of 15 special notebooks with covers drawn by different artists, and is running pop-up events around the world! I was thrilled to find out that a store close to me, M.Lovewell, would be hosting the pop-up event from March 25 to April 8. Of course, I had to stop by the store and pick up some goodies!

I decided to film my trip to the store, so be sure to check out the short video I posted on YouTube for the full experience!

I dropped by on the first day of the event so that I’d be sure to pick up the 15th anniversary notebook I wanted. Above is a photo of the poster promoting the special line featuring 15 different artists and the covers they contributed. You can read all about each of the artists and see more photos on the MD anniversary website. I’ll share which one I got later on in the post!

I ended up purchasing three MD paper products total – well, technically only two, but my boyfriend is graciously letting me include his 15th anniversary notebook in my haul for this post. If you spend over $30 on MD products at M.Lovewell, either in store or online, you’ll be eligible to enter in a giveaway. I definitely hit that, so fingers crossed!

All purchases at the 15th anniversary pop-up event also receive a special bookplate sticker and MD bookmark.

In an amusing coincidence, my boyfriend and I both picked covers by Australian artists living in Japan. Adrain Hogan, who did the sushi cover I got, has done illustrations for Japanese magazines like Popeye and Brutus!

I’ve never actually had a MD notebook before, so I wanted to get another in addition to the special 15th anniversary version. I know that one will be difficult for me to actually write in due to its exclusive nature (I’ll work up to it!). So, I grabbed a F2 MD notebook as well, which will be a great size for sketching. I love all the information they give you on the back in Japanese and English.

All MD notebooks come with a bookplate. It’s such a nice touch!

Finally, another big draw of the anniversary pop-up: the exclusive stamp! If you purchase any MD product during the event, you’ll have the opportunity to stamp it with the special anniversary stamp. I was very glad the staff let me do a test run before actually committing it to my notebook. I think it turned out really nice! You can see a video of me testing my stamping prowess in the YouTube short I uploaded.

The MD 15 Anniversary Pop-up event runs from March 25th to April 8th at M.Lovewell’s downtown Santa Ana, California location. If you’re in the area, I highly recommend checking it out! But if not, you can also purchase items from the MD line on their website, including the 15th anniversary exclusives.

The post MD Paper 15th Anniversary Pop-up at M.Lovewell appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Norn9: Var Commons releases for Nintendo Switch on March 30th, and I couldn’t be more excited! Of course, a localized otome game release is always cause for celebration, but this time I’m extra excited because I worked on the game!! Read on for more info and lots of news and fun to celebrate the launch this week!

You may remember that Norn9: Var Commons first came out in English for the PS Vita back in 2015, making this a port of that release. Back when it came out, there were some issues with the localization, so for this release, Aksys Games brought me on to overhaul all of the English text!

For the game’s upcoming release, Naja over at Blerdy Otome invited me to do a interview where I go over my involvement in the project and the process of updating the game’s script. She asked a lot of really interesting questions and I had the opportunity to talk all about the experience I had working on the game, so please check it out!

In addition to the interview, I’ll also be appearing on the Aksys Games weekly Twitch stream on March 30th at 3pm PT with their host Sami to celebrate the launch of Norn9: Var Commons. It’s always a lot of fun hanging out with Sami on the Aksys streams, but I’m extra excited because this time I’ll be with him live in person (yay living in California!). If you’re free on the day, please stop by and say hi!

Update March 28, 2023: Two more things have been announced since I published this post: I’ll be guesting on Naja’s Twitch channel for her launch playthrough of Norn9: Var Commons on Friday, March 31st at 3pm PT! Plus, the lovely sisters at Otome Shimai have published a podcast episode about Norn9: Var Commons in which they read a few comments they asked me to send through.

And finally, the folks at Aksys Games were kind enough to provide a digital code of the game for me to give away to readers of Chic Pixel to celebrate the launch. Please check out the widget below for details on how to enter, and be sure to rack up those extra entry points! The giveaway is open worldwide and ends March 31st at 11:59pm PT.

Best of luck to everyone who enters! If you have any questions about the game, please feel free to ask in the comments. Putting aside the fact that I worked on the game, I really like Norn9 and highly recommend it to fans of otome games and sci-fi stories. Plus, the fan disc (that I also worked on) is coming out for the Switch in English for the first time in a couple months, so now is an especially good time to dive in!

The post Norn9: Var Commons Interview, Giveaway, and Launch Stream! appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Capcom has just announced its latest line of collab merchandise, and it’s with the adorable shiba line Shibaban by illustrator Yasuteru Ogoshi! There are five main designs from four of Capcom’s iconic game series, Okami (Amaterasu and Oki), Monster Hunter (Palamute), Mega Man (Rush), and Resident Evil (Cerberus). The Shibanban shiba looks absolutely adorable in all of the different themed costumes!

The merchandise lineup includes everything from acrylic standees to washi tape and sticky notes. The products will be released both online on the Parco Capcom store and in official Capcom stores in Tokyo, Osaka, and Umeda on March 25th. Check out all of the super cute items below!

I find it really interesting that they chose to include Oki, as I feel like he’s not featured in a lot of merchandise. Plus, there are two dogs from Okami, and only one from each of the other games. Did they run out of Capcom dog characters? Can you think of any others that could’ve been good candidates?

Though, I’m certainly not complaining, as I love every one of the designs!

In addition to the items you can buy outright, Capcom is also releasing UFO catcher exclusive items that must be won through Capcom’s UFO catcher app, Capcom Net Catcher, or an arcade in Japan offering one of the machines.

All of the UFO catcher items will also release on the 25th. Guess I’ll scouring the Japanese second hand market…

Finally, there are two special tote bag designs! The Amaterasu design will be offered as a free gift at Capcom stores with any purchase of the Shibanban x Capcom line products totaling over 4,000 yen. The Palamute bag will be offered at Capcom arcades to people who spend 1500 yen on the Shibanban x Capcom UFO catcher machines; you will collect one ticket for every 500 yen deposited, and can exchange three tickets for the tote bag.

The Amaterasu and Palamute designs are definitely my favorites, so I love that they chose to put them on the promo tote bags! You bet I’d get desperate to get my hands on at least one of them if I was in Japan. Neither promotion will be available for online orders, so unfortunately they will be harder to get than the other products.

For those unfamiliar with Yasuteru Ogoshi’s Shibanban illustrations, I highly recommend checking out their Instagram account! They release lots of super cute shiba merch through Mindwave such as stickers and other stationery, as well as products with other companies. They even have a wide range of stickers for LINE!

If you are interested in trying to snag some of these items from the Parco Capcom online store when they go up for purchase on March 25th, you can do so using a forwarding service such as Tenso. For more information on my experience with Tenso, check out this post!

The post Japan Envy: Shibanban x Capcom appeared first on Chic Pixel.

One of the great benefits of moving to Orange County is that I get to finally experience all the cool local events I kept seeing online when I lived in Australia! One such event is Takumi Alley, a makers mart celebrating Asian creatives and Asian culture that was held on March 12, 2023.

Takumi means “artisan” in Japanese, emphasizing the intent of the market to celebrate Asian creatives and craftsmanship. I heard about the event through Bananabelle Brown, a cookie crafter who organized the market with Okayama Kobo Bakery & Cafe and curated the vendor lineup. Even though the market was outdoors and had to be postponed a day due to weather, it appears to have been a great success, and there are plans for more in the future!

The market consisted of 21 vendors at a small outdoor space called the Lemon Street Parklet in Downtown Anaheim, just down the street from Okayama Kobo Bakery & Cafe. I’ve followed a number of the creators online for years, so as soon as I saw the lineup, I knew I had to go! I made sure to arrive right when they opened at 10am in order to make sure I could grab at least one of Bananabelle Brown’s adorable cookies before they sold out.

Bananabelle had a large line from the moment I arrived, and it was pretty steadily busy the entire time I was there. Luckily, I was able to snag two super cute cookies and admire all the rest. The cookies keep for up to two weeks, and to be honest, they’re so cute, that I haven’t been able to bring myself to eat them!

Another artist whose booth I was extremely excited to see was Amy of Bubble Sort Zines. Her aesthetic, art, and endeavor to teach computer science through zines are all super inspiring to me, so it was amazing to be able to say hello and pick up a couple zines I’ve been wanting!

Then there was Sharodactyl Art, another amazing artist who has some of the cutest designs around! It was very hard to not buy one of everything. If you purchased three pins, you would get a random gummy bear, which a nice added bonus, as well.

I was also really thrilled to meet Naoshi, whose work I happened upon when I dropped by Nucleus Portland a few weeks ago and purchased one of her sand kits. She was so lovely to meet and chat with, and I learned that all of her art is made with colored sand (aka sunae in Japanese)! She was also promoting her upcoming children’s book Kickstarter, which I’m excited to check out this May.

One of the most impressive booths design-wise was definitely Okeya Stationery Co., run by the husband and wife team Jan and Audrey Okeya! (I can’t imagine the effort it takes to set up!) Each of their work is distinctive and cute, but compliments each other’s very well. When I spoke with them, their love and enthusiasm for their craft really showed through. It was especially nice to meet Audrey after being inspired by her art on Instagram!

Another booth I was really impressed with design-wise was Aki Art’s with its super cute standees of her character DeerCat! I loved her prints, washi tape, and glassware, but in the end I opted to pick up a zine that I’ll share in my haul roundup at the end of this post.

While there were plenty of art prints and stationery at the event, there was a wide variety of craft represented, from Bananabelle Brown’s cookies to oyster sculptures by Sean Chao, polymer clay accessories from the Kawaii Craft Shop, wooden figures by K.O.W., and more.

I highly recommend going through the full vendor list on the Takumi Alley webpage to peruse the full lineup, as each creator had some amazing work on offer. I definitely went a little wild with my purchases, but everything was too neat to pass up between meeting some of my favorite creators and finding new artists to enjoy!

The only issue will be if Takumi Alley becomes a frequent regular thing and I have to be more selective with my purchases for the sale of my bank account…

My purchases definitely skewed towards paper products and stationery, which should not be at all surprising if you’ve been a reader of Chic Pixel for a while. It’s always easy to justify more stationery purchases when you’ve got a Hobonichi to fill. I’ll go through and highlight each purchase with the makers listed, but if there’s anything you’d like more information about, please leave a comment!

If it isn’t obvious by now, I had an amazing time at Takumi Alley! You could pair the visit with a stop at the Japanese bakery Okayama Kobo, but when I passed by it late morning, the line was down the street, so unfortunately I opted to skip it this time. There is also the Anaheim Packing District nearby with lots of food options (I had poutine topped with Japanese curry at The Kroft!).

I’m definitely looking forward to more of these events in the future. If you’re interested in being a vendor at a future Takumi Alley event, they are hoping to make it quarterly, and there is currently a wait list organized by Bananabelle Brown. I can’t wait to see who is featured next!

The post Takumi Alley Event Report appeared first on Chic Pixel.

After two years of cancellations due to COVID-19, SMASH! Sydney Manga and Anime Show was finally held once again this past July – just in time for its 15th anniversary!

SMASH! is a non-profit, volunteer-run endeavor, and after my first time attending in 2019 after moving to Sydney, I am continually impressed by the quality of the con.

This year, despite not having government-mandated capacity restrictions, the SMASH! team opted to cap attendee numbers in order to avoid overcrowding, which resulted in the whole weekend being sold out. While unfortunate for those who wanted to attend but weren’t able, Saturday at the con was crowded enough to make me feel that they made the right call to reduce attendee numbers.

Having reverted to nearly full hermit over the past two years, I figured I would only have enough energy to attend one day of the con, so I opted to go on Saturday. SMASH! 2022 took place at ICC Sydney, a convention center located in Darling Harbour, a vibrant, albeit slightly touristy area of Sydney.

To pick up my media badge, I arrived well before the convention opened at 10am, though my media pass allowed me to enter the convention early. After grabbing a coffee at a nearby Japanese-style coffee shop, I made my way in about 15 minutes before opening to join the other members of the media and staff to see the first fans entering the con at 10am. You could feel the energy and excitement in the air, and it was really lovely to have the opportunity to view the start of the con from the other side of the doors!

For me, a big highlight of any convention is seeing all of the fans in cosplay and getting inspired in the artist alley. Of course, a major draw for many are the guests, and I would’ve loved to see some Japanese talent at SMASH! 2022, particularly voice actors. Unfortunately, there weren’t any this year (I imagine likely due to COVID-19), and the guest list skewed heavily to VTubers and YouTube personalities. The most exciting guest on the lineup for me was Kevin Penkin, a Melbourne-based composer who has contributed to anime and games such as Made in Abyss and Florence!

Aside from guests, there were plenty of events to keep fans busy throughout the weekend, including the World Cosplay Summit Preliminaries and an exclusive screening of Fruits Basket -Prelude-.

Honestly, I kept myself plenty busy without attending any of the special events! I made my way through the main convention hall from the start of the con at 10am until about 4pm when I finally had to call it a day (with a break for lunch, of course). Aside from stores selling everything from imported merchandise to cosplay accessories, there was also a large Bandai booth where attendees could go to gunpla workshops, and even a gaming area with a wide array of games – including my personal favorite, Pop’n Music! I was also pleasantly surprised to stumble into a humble Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers 2 booth where they were giving out free pins to promote the upcoming game.

SPY X FAMILY was all the rage at the con, and Crunchyroll came prepared with a booth modeled after the Forger’s home for attendees to take photos in (see my silly attempt to join the family above).

Speaking of cosplay, the amazing duo pictured above were the Best in Show winners at the Cosplay Masquerade on Saturday! Cinohrui (left) is dressed in a fan witch Sailor Mercury design, and Cryptidcorvo (right) is a fan witch Sailor Neptune design, both by Kutty Sark. I’ve been watching Cinohrui’s cosplay come to life over the past few weeks on Instagram, and it was even more amazing to see in person!

As a huge Monster Hunter fan, I was very excited to see these two cosplayers! The cosplayer on the left sported a hilarious costume from Monster Hunter Rise, but unfortunately I didn’t get their name. On the right is Chris Tucker, aka roxas_wind_cosplay, dressed in a handmade (and glowing!) Zinogre armor set. Only after asking for a photo did I realize that I interrupted him on his way to the Cosplay Masquerade… Sorry, Chris!

I also wanted to highlight the cosplayer artvinsky (left), who not only sported an awesome punk Zagreus (Hades) cosplay they designed, but when I asked if I could take a photo, they offered me a free woodblock print inspired by the game! It was such a sweet gesture and one of my best memories of the day…

…Followed closely by the Nagito (Danganronpa 2) cosplayer on the right, aka cactuskhee, an artist who was doing a Nagito keychain gacha that had you pulling a keychain out of Nagito’s noggin. It was hilarious and extra-exciting for me as a huge Nagito fan!

Of course, it wouldn’t be a con recap without a haul! As expected, I did most of my shopping in the artist alley, and I picked up a whole pile of business cards for artists I want to purchase from in the future. From top left to right going clockwise, the item details are as follows:

Aussie animal wizard stickers by Jess Rose – Hades print by artvinsky – washi tape x2 and notepad by Jess the Chen, Monster Hunter stickers by alis_kun – Nagito keychain by cactuskhee – flower girl pin by Lana Jay – sad doge pin by HideawayMelon – Alice washi tape by Cherry Rabbit – free FFXIV Viera comic by saintamand_

After not having been to such a large public event in so long, I was apprehensive of how SMASH! 2022 would go. Not only that, but COVID-19 is still very much a presence in our lives. While I was hopeful that the convention would be run in a safe manner, I was still concerned about COVID precautions and how courteous attendees would be of others.

Though there was not a mask requirement for attendees (which is currently standard procedure in Australia), I would say at least half of the people I saw were wearing masks, and those that weren’t were still respectful of social distancing and others’ choice to wear a mask.

Aside from not having any guests I was particularly excited to see, I was very happy with the SMASH! 2022 experience overall. It’s hard to come back after COVID-19 setbacks, and I’m sure even more so for a non-profit fan-run event, but the team should be proud of what they accomplished for this year’s convention. I will definitely be looking forward to SMASH! 2023!

The post SMASH! Con 2022 Recap appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Aksys Games hosted a panel today at Anime Expo, and while unfortunately it wasn’t live streamed, a ton of game localization announcements were made! Of course, there were a few otome titles that I’m especially excited for, but there are a number of other awesome titles too. Read on for the full list!

First, the otome games! Aksys Games announced they’ll be releasing Radiant Tale, Shuuen no Virche -ErroR:salvation-, and Norn9: Var Commons and the Norn9 fan disc, Last Era, all for Nintendo Switch in 2023. It’s a variable smorgasbord!

Norn9: Var Commons was previously released by Aksys Games for PS Vita in 2015, but this will be the first time the fan disc is coming out in English. Both will be sold together as pack titled Norn9: LOFN.

Radiant Tale and Shuuen no Virche are two titles I’m particularly thrilled to hear are getting English releases, as I’ve had my eye on them for a while! Radiant Tale is a circus-themed otome game where protagonist Tifalia takes on the role of producer for the aptly-titled group of unsuccessful performers named CIRCUS.

I absolutely adore the art by Usuba Kageroo of Wand of Fortune and Will o’ Wisp fame! Even the menu window designs are gorgeous, with a clear art nouveau influence.

In contrast to Radiant Tale‘s colorful visuals, Shuuen no Virche -ErroR:salvation- has dark visuals, and a dark story to boot. In a small country in fantasy Europe, humans are born with a curse that leads to their death by age 23. The way they’ve found to combat such short lives is by saving the memories of those doomed to perish and uploading them into certain individuals called “relivers.”

The main scenario writer for Shuuen no Virche is Satama Nakayomi, who worked on Café Enchanté, Variable Barricade, and Code: Realize, games I all enjoyed (to varying degrees), so I have high hopes for this one!

As for non-otome titles, Aksys Games and Dreamloop Games announced a “social thriller” titled Inescapable for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC. So, basically everything! Dreamloop Games is a Finnish developer, so this isn’t a localization, but the game looks inspired by Japanese titles such as Danganronpa. I’m definitely intrigued!

Then there’s Pups & Purrs Pet Shop, the sequel to Pups & Purrs Animal Hospital. These games look pretty cute, if a little simplistic, but it’s clear they’re meant for a younger audience. Big kudos to the localized title, though – the name Pups & Purrs is just adorable.

Finally, the sequel to Death Mark, a Japanese horror visual novel with a great aesthetic, was announced for Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PC. Titled Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II, the game will release in 2023. Interestingly, this game will also incorporate aspects of tabletop role-playing games and have a side view of the character being controlled; both things that weren’t in the original Death Mark game.

You can watch trailers for all of the announcements over on Aksys Games’ YouTube. It looks like otome game fans are going to continue to have lots of releases to look forward to!

The post Aksys Game Localization Announcements – Anime Expo 2022 appeared first on Chic Pixel.

The magic academy-themed yuri visual novel Perfect Gold: The Alchemy of Happiness is the third game by the Philippines-based indie studio YangYang Mobile, and the Nintendo Switch and iOS/Android ports have just been released just in time for Pride Month. As a short and sweet romance with gorgeous visuals, I couldn’t resist checking it out!

I’ve been following YangYang Mobile’s titles since their first release, The Letter, a horror visual novel. Their second title, Love Esquire, is a romantic comedy dating sim with RPG elements with a clear bishojo influence. It’s really fascinating to see their trajectory (they currently have a new horror title, Saint Maker, coming out later this year), but I was admittedly a little apprehensive about how a company without any yuri titles in their lineup might handle the subject matter. 

Perfect Gold is the story of two girls, Audrey and Marion, who attend a prestigious magical school in the city of Castlecove. After a falling out, the pair butt heads in one of their classes and are sentenced to detention on the day of the yearly Sunflower Festival. Not wanting to miss out, Marion convinces Audrey to ditch detention with her. The story follows the two girls through the past and present, and you’ll learn about their backgrounds, personalities, and motivations to understand why their friendship fell apart and hopefully mend things between them. 

The fantasy setting may largely be a backdrop for this intimate, character-driven narrative, but the writing and illustrations paint a lovely picture of the city of Castlecove and the nuisances of the people that inhabit it. Despite being focused on a fantasy magic school, it wasn’t exactly what I expected – the girls have different crests on their uniforms, but unlike a certain other famous magic school series, these denote what aspect of magic they’re studying, be it alchemy, elemental magic, or healing (there may be others, but these are the main ones that come up in the game). 

Worldbuilding is achieved through small nods throughout the text and situations that show, rather than tell, players more about the setting for this schoolgirl romance. The city of Castlecove turns out to be prosperous because of the work of alchemists to turn objects into precious metals. As a result, tensions between alchemists, who view themselves as superior because of their hand in making the city what it is now, and the other types of magic users, are high. Aubrey is the daughter of a famous alchemist family, so she’s expected to follow in their footsteps, but her heart yearns for a different path…

Marion, on the other hand, comes from the south, and worked hard to earn a place at LeFay Academy. She’s most attuned to fire magic, which fits her passionate, strong-willed personality. Then there’s her sister, a famous graduate of LeFay Academy who Marion admires greatly, but hasn’t been in contact with for ages due to her sister’s fast-paced, glamorous lifestyle. 

The first thing that struck me about Perfect Gold was how gorgeous it is. Not only are the anime-style character sprites detailed and emotive, everything, from the characters’ hair to elements of the backgrounds, move ever so slightly as if a gentle breeze is flowing throughout the entire game. It’s subtle enough to not be distracting or annoying, and I really liked how it added an extra touch to the CG scenes.  

The characters are also fully voiced in English, with Audrey and Marion’s voice actors providing solid performances along with the supporting cast. While some may wish the game was longer, I think, as an indie developer, YangYang Mobile was probably able to pull out all of the stops to make such an impressive, polished experience precisely because it is a shorter game. After completing the story, you’re even treated to some additional content such as a gallery with assets from the game, which I really enjoyed being able to flick through. 

I had a few minor issues with how the game was ported to the Switch – namely, I was not a fan of how the left stick needs to be clicked in to view the backlog, and when playing on the Switch lite, the achievement text was so tiny, it was nearly illegible. The achievement font being so small made me wonder if it’s even worse of an issue on mobile phones… But during my single playthrough without a guide, I was able to get all of the achievements and view what they were for in the main menu, so it didn’t impact my experience in a major way. 

As a short coming-of-age story of love and friendship between two girls from different backgrounds, Perfect Gold is a really pleasant, enjoyable gåme. The narrative switches between the perspectives of Audrey and Marion and provides numerous text-based decisions to shape the course of the story in minor ways. Many of the characters and aspects of the plot do fall into familiar tropes, but I think that’s par for the course of a short script. Some examples of this can be in the character designs themselves, as well as the core conflicts present in the narrative. 

However, the game does shake up things with the characters in interesting ways, such as Audrey’s reason for why she wants a different magical path than the one that’s expected of her. I also really appreciated the small additional details such as the teacher with they/them pronouns that made the game even more LGBTQIA+ inclusive than just the central lesbian romance.

Anyone who has been reading my blog for a while will know that I don’t read/play/watch a lot of yuri media, mostly because I tend to not be interested in yuri created with the male gaze in mind. However, Perfect Gold is very much reminiscent of early shojo stories about the blossoming romances between schoolgirls, with none of the panty shots or undulating breasts that can pop up in some yuri media (not that there is necessarily anything wrong with that! It’s just not to my personal taste). If you feel similarly or are just looking for a yuri romance that is more on the sweet/innocent side, I think you’ll find that this game does not disappoint. 

I came out of Perfect Gold: The Alchemy of Happiness with not only the perfect amount of warm fuzziness, but also a surprising amount of admiration for what the developers accomplished. I don’t fault the game for being a little cliched in some areas because its writing is filled with so much compassion toward its characters and subject matter for its playtime. Even if, like me, you don’t pick up yuri titles very often, I implore anyone interested in indie games, LGBTQIA+ narratives, and visual novels to give Perfect Gold: The Alchemy of Happiness a try.

Steam | itch.io | Switch | iOS | Android

A review code for Nintendo Switch was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.

The post Perfect Gold: The Alchemy of Happiness Review appeared first on Chic Pixel.

A lot of properties have gotten the Warriors treatment, from The Legend of Zelda to One Piece, but Touken Ranbu might be one of the best-suited series for the Warriors format from the premise alone. Originally a free-to-play browser game released in 2015, Touken Ranbu features a huge cast of anthropomorphic historical swords in the form of handsome men designed by various artists. Since then, it’s become immensely popular, particularly in Japan, and has multiple adaptations in the form of anime, manga, stage plays, and even a live-action film. There is now also a mobile version, as well as an English localization of the game that was released in 2021.

The premise of Touken Ranbu is that the Touken Danshi (“swordsmen”) are elite fighters sworn to protect history from the History Retrograde Army, who are threatening to change the course of history by going back and time and interfering with significant battles and historical events to further their own goals. Players of the browser/mobile game take on the role of the Saniwa (“master”) to manage and deploy the various Touken Danshi on missions to protect the timeline – and, of course, create new Touken Danshi as they’re added to the game through the gacha mechanic.

While the source material has limited gameplay that is mostly automated, it’s easy to see how a bunch of sword boys fighting forces that are trying to change history makes for a natural fit for the “1-on-1000” action format of Koei Tecmo’s Warriors games. Of course, Warriors developers Omega Force are behind Touken Ranbu Warriors, but Ruby Party, Koei Tecmo’s team best known for their otome game titles, also assisted with this release. That effectively makes it the first Ruby Party game to come out in English for PC and Nintendo Switch!

There are no romance or otome elements to Touken Ranbu Warriors, though. Still, it offers plenty of eye candy for fans of cute anime-style boys, from managing the 15 characters and their bond levels to unlock short vignettes as they grow closer to assigning them to different locations around your base and watching them do things like sipping tea.

The question many may have when considering whether to pick up Touken Ranbu Warriors is whether it’s a good title for Warriors fans with no background in Touken Ranbu, or a release that caters more to existing fans of Touken Ranbu. As the most casual Touken Ranbu “fan” I could possibly be (I love the character designs, particularly those by kinako, have played a minuscule amount of the browser game and watched a couple of episodes of one of the anime), and a slightly less casual fan of Warriors games (Samurai Warriors 3 was my jam, and I’ve dipped my toes in multiple other mainline Warriors games and spinoffs), I’ll try my best to answer that question!

Of course, the main meat of the game is in the classic Warriors-style action, where you control one of the characters and face off against hordes of enemies in an attempt to thwart the evil forces of the History Retrograde Army. These missions are broken into sorties, with the 15 characters in your arsenal split into teams that are sent out at different times. The first time you play a mission, you’re limited to playing as only the characters from the assigned team, with an occasional random character from a different team available to select from those assigned to the Honmaru.

Missions and combat will be largely familiar to fans of Warriors games. Each mission consists of different goals, such as stopping advancing forces or protecting a certain characters. Every character has a regular attack, special attacks, and an extra special Hissatsu attack. With the regular control scheme, these attacks are mapped to different buttons, but Touken Ranbu Warriors also offers an easy mode where attacks and evasion are all controlled with a single button for ease of play.

During missions, you will be guided by the adorable Konnosuke, who directs you to points of interest and will investigate the area when necessary. You’ll often be out on sorties with another Touken Danshi, who can join your character for special attacks, as well. Once the partner gauge is full, you can press a button to have them join your character for special partner attacks for a limited time.

I did notice that the AI for these backup characters was a little flakey, and they often stood around not doing much of anything. It’s a shame there’s not a two-player co-op mode so that you can play with a friend in these instances, especially since that’s a pretty common feature in recent Warriors games.

Between missions, you can upgrade your Touken Danshi to unlock various stat boosts and new special attacks, as well as assign the Danshi in your roster to different areas of the Honmaru base. Occassionally, different minigames will be available to play in the Honmaru, such as onigiri making, ikebana flower arrangement, and more. These minigames are helpful for getting extra materials to level up and purchase items with, so they’re worth doing, but I found them to be pretty repetitive since they’re quite simplistic (but luckily, it’s not too hard to get good results for more materials).

I was provided with the digital deluxe version of the game, which comes with 16 Uchiban outfits (alternative outfits for the characters to wear in replays and in the Honmaru), 5 Honmaru backdrops, and 5 additional pieces of music. I personally didn’t find these extras to be worth the price of the digital deluxe version ($109.99 USD, versus $59.99 for the regular edition), but fans of Touken Ranbu may want to pick them up together or individually (more info on the DLC here). I did enjoy changing the Honmaru backdrops and outfits for some photo sessions – yes, the game includes nice photo mode with filters, stickers, and more!

To be honest, I think there’s a lot to enjoy here for fans of Touken Ranbu, but as a Warriors action game, Touken Ranbu Warriors feels quite limited. Even other tie-in Warriors games like the Hyrule Warriors titles have more enthralling gameplay, from the option for co-op to more diverse maps, enemies, and objectives.

I don’t want to pigenhole Touken Ranbu players as not being familiar with action games (in fact, one of my good friends is both a major Touken Ranbu fan and a dedicated Warriors fan!), but it seems like the developers have done just that. While I appreciate that the game has an easy mode, I wish the maps were a bit longer and more involved. In addition, since all of the characters are based on different swords, a lot of them end up feeling rather similar to play as, and I found myself missing the more varied casts of other Warriors games.

On the flip side, there is some great stuff here for fans. For example, while I may not be deep in the Touken Ranbu weeds, I do like many of the Japanese voice actors featured, and hearing all of the voiced story and Honmaru dialogue is a real treat. There are even little features such as the ability to blow wind on the characters in the Honmaru and see how they react!

The story is a fun time-traveling romp, and there are lots of great interactions between the various characters, though many of the references may go over the heads of the Touken-unfamiliar. Though I haven’t fully completed the game as of this review, I don’t think the levels have the same replayability of other Warriors titles I’ve tried, and there’s no extra mode like Adventure Mode in Hyrule Warriors or the Citadel of Samurai Warriors 5.

Finally, I would be remiss to mention a couple remaining gripes that might be rather specific to me, but I’ll include them anyway. First, I really wish Touken Ranbu Warriors used the official 2D character art in some capacity! All of the art is so gorgeous, it seems like a shame that it wasn’t included. But since they did make 3D models of all of these characters, I suppose it makes sense that those would be the focus (though I feel they pale in comparison to the 2D art). Also, I wonder how the Touken Danshi were chosen for the roster, as it’s missing some I thought for sure would be included, such as Kiyomitsu, Yasusada, and Kogitsunemaru.

As you can probably tell, I’m going to say that it’s hard to recommend Touken Ranbu Warriors to folks who aren’t already somewhat invested in the Touken Ranbu franchise. Perhaps you’ve played the original game, or watched some of the anime, but an interest, if not familiarity, is really required to enjoy what Touken Ranbu Warriors has to offer. Though Touken Ranbu fans may thoroughly enjoy what’s available, as a Warriors game, it’s a bit too bare-bones for me. Instead, it offers some nice Danshi eye-candy for short, low-stakes play sessions on my Nintendo Switch.

A digital deluxe code for Nintendo Switch was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.

The post Touken Ranbu Warriors Review appeared first on Chic Pixel.

The Princess Tutu anime recently celebrated its 20th anniversary and held a fan event called the spring festival, aka Frühlingsfest! I believe this was the first Princess Tutu event available to be streamed overseas, so I excitedly jumped on the opportunity to watch the recording via Mahocast. Though the landing page had the event description in multiple languages, since the actual stream didn’t have English subtitles, I thought someone might be interested in hearing about what happened in the event. If that’s you, read on for a full recap of all the proceedings!

First, if you haven’t seen/heard of Princess Tutu and you enjoy shojo anime, I recommend you rectify that ASAP! In a nutshell, Princess Tutu is a magical girl series themed around fairytales and ballet that was created by Ikuto Itoh, known for her work on the Sailor Moon anime. Other staff for the 20th anniversary event included director Junichi Sato (also famous for Sailor Moon, Pretear, and more), and Fakir voice actor Takahiro Sakurai (via recording), one of my top voice actors due to his amazing characters such as Reigen, Shirokuma, and, of course, Fakir.

Tickets for the livestream and recording cost 3,000 yen, and the recording could be viewed from May 22, the day of the event, until May 28. If you ever are interested in using the service it was hosted on for international viewers, Mahocast was extremely easy to sign up for, and it also takes international credit cards! It was fun to watch the recording and see the live chat log; I bet it would’ve been extra fun to tune in live and chat with fans from around the world.

The event clocked in at about 2.5 hours, plus an intermission. It took place at Blues Alley Japan, a jazz club that looked rather small and intimate from the view on the livestream. The event began with Ahiru’s voice actor, Nanae Kato, and Uzura’s voice actor, Erino Hazuki, talking about the spring festival in character, after which they, Junichi Sato, and Ikuto Itoh took the stage.

Special Princess Tutu-themed drinks were available, and the cast on stage all had the themed drinks to do a toast with the attendees (both in-person and online!). Erino Hazuki even took the time to take a photo of her drink along with Nanae Kato’s on stage, which was pretty hilarious (see photo 2 below for the picture taken while they were on stage). I wish I could’ve tried the drinks and Princess Tutu special dessert!

Following this, the whole first half of the event was the four cast members chatting about their experiences and memories of Princess Tutu, with Junichi Sato MCing. Some interesting comments I noted from this segment were: Uzuru’s VA Erino Hazuki said she only watched the series in full for the first time a few years ago, which was surprising to pretty much everyone! Previously, she’d only seen the parts that her character had appeared in. Meanwhile, Ahiru’s VA Nanae Kato noted that this anime was her first lead role, so she was nervous, but also learned a lot.

A discussion about the intermingling of humans and animals in the show revealed some fun insights from Ikuto Itoh. She mentioned that she didn’t want all of the animals to be standard “cute” fare, and purposefully picked animals to populate the world that would surprise viewers.

At this point, there was a music change, which indicated that it was time for part one of Takahiro Sakurai’s pre-recorded interview. This was apparently his first time participating in a Princess Tutu anniversary event, even though he wasn’t there live. The video featured Junichi Sato asking Takahiro Sakurai a number of questions, such as whether he got an impression of how popular it was with fans, to which he said he still gets letters from fans, even people who are now fans that weren’t born when the series first came out! (this was a comment that came up in the intro discussion too) When discussing his memories of the audition process, Sakurai mentions that he wasn’t the first choice of the male staff, but all the female staff wanted him for Fakir!

Sakurai’s interview was so long, they split it into two parts, with the second part to run during the second half of the stream. The cast took a 30-minute break, and the stream resumed with pianist and singer Maya Tsutsumi performing the Princess Tutu opening theme, “Morning Gace.” (I admit, I got teary!) She then introduced herself as a friend of the original composer, Ritsuko Okazaki, who sadly passed away in 2004. Maya Tsutsumi also performed the ending theme, “Although My Love is Small.”

This led naturally into a discussion of Princess Tutu‘s music and live concert with Kaoru Wada and Yasuno Sato (Junichi Sato’s wife). They talked about the process of selecting and adapting classical pieces for the show, as well as the 15th anniversary concert where they ran Princess Tutu footage as the orchestra performed. Unfortunately, the video froze on Fakir! (they shared this footage during the stream, which was pretty funny, but probably mortifying at the time)

The staff expressed a desire to do an international concert tour someday, but currently preparations are underway for the 20th anniversary concert, which I’m assuming is Japan-only at this point in time. After this, the second half of the Sakuai interview was played. In it, he discusses Yasunori Matsumoto (Neko-sensei voice actor)’s commanding presence and skill, and Junichi Sato jokes about how international fans said that Fakir’s German pronunciation wasn’t very good. Plus, did Sakurai know Mythos wasn’t wearing pants in the first episode? Apparently not…

As the event was nearing its end, there was one announcement – they’re making a 20th anniversary music box featuring new art from Ikuto Itoh! She joked about how she had to draw the characters smaller and smaller when she went from the VCD release to DVD, and now the music box is an even smaller space to work with… She conducted an informal poll on whether fans would prefer more characters on the box, or fewer, that would appear larger. It seems like people generally preferred fewer characters (myself included!). The music box will be available for preorder from August for a December release.

At the end, there was a giveaway for some special shikishi boards drawn and signed by different members of the staff, and the cast of the event gave their final comments. Ikuto Itoh got very emotional during her closing words, and said that she had no idea her little duck would make it this far. There was some hinting at/desire for future events, so I hope at the very least that they do another for the 25th anniversary! And more merch, please!

If one good thing has come from COVID, it’s the prevalence of livestreams for events like these. I’m really happy I was able to watch the recording and take part in the 20th anniversary of Princess Tutu!

The post Princess Tutu 20th Anniversary Frühlingsfest Event Recap appeared first on Chic Pixel.

The classic Osamu Tezuka manga Unico, originally published in Sanrio’s shojo manga magazine Lyrica in the 1970s, is being reimagined as a full-color manga titled UNICO: AWAKENING (ユニコ: 目覚めのおはなし)! The new 162-page manga launched on Kickstarter this week, and was fully funded within 24 hours, meaning anyone can back the project while it’s active to receive a copy of UNICO: AWAKENING when it’s published, in either English or Japanese! Plus, artists from around the world have come together to produce exclusive prints and limited edition collectibles from a picture book to a fashion lookbook.

The team behind the adaptation includes writer Samuel Sattin, behind the graphic novel adaptation of the Academy Award Nominated Cartoon Saloon film Wolfwalkers, and illustrator duo Gurihiru, known for their work in both American comics and Japanese games, manga and anime (notable works include Gwenpool and the upcoming Ultraman: Another Gene). They are working closely with Tezuka Productions in Japan to reimagine the classic “The Cat on the Broomstick” story from Tezuka’s original Unico manga.

As someone very interested in cross-cultural collaborations and adaptations of classic stories, this project intrigues me on so many levels! Luckily for me, I was able to correspond with Samuel Sattin about what it’s like to work with Tezuka Productions and Gurihiru, the differences between adapting a film to a graphic novel versus a manga to a manga/comic hybrid, and more.

Anne Lee: What was the impetus for this new adaptation of Unico? Is Unico a character you were previously familiar with?
Samuel Sattin: I was well familiar with Unico well before I got involved in the project, but I did learn far more about his story since then, which has been really edifying. I’ve been a big fan of Osamu Tezuka’s for a long while, and the possibility of engaging with his work left [me] gobsmacked. Of course I love Atom/Astro Boy (I have a pretty prominent tattoo from the Atom comics on my forearm), but what really solidified my love of Tezuka was reading his more adult—his gekiga—works. MW had a big impact on me, which I’d come to find out was created at the exact same time as Unico. This makes a strange kind of sense to me, as my impetus for wanting to work with Unico had to do with the character’s complexity and tragedy. Unico is a cute little unicorn, but his story is messy and meaningful. I’m drawn to its themes, and will try my best to engage with them. 

Lee: Unico is an iconic Tezuka character, but I think the stories are lesser-known among English-speaking fans. What is it about Cat and the Brookstick that makes the story well-suited for a revival? 
Sattin: It’s true that in the US especially there’s less familiarity with Unico–particularly the manga. But the films from the early-mid-eighties had more traction, which provides a little bit of awareness. The reason why I chose The Cat and the Broomstick arc is that it contains incredibly compelling themes revolving around identity, acceptance, and rage. There are some characters in it, including a cat that doesn’t want to be a cat, an elderly woman who’s lost her way, and a sadistic hunter with a hatred of the natural world. When I read and reread it, I feel like it has a lot to offer the modern world. I also think it poses a lot of questions that we can explore in the Unico universe, some of which many fans have asked over the years.

Lee: You’ve had experience adapting a work for graphic novel format before with Wolfwalkers. What are the similarities and/or differences between adapting a film to graphic novel versus an existing manga?
Sattin: Adapting WOLFWALKERS was an incredible experience, and I love working with the folks at Cartoon Saloon and Little Brown for Young Readers. The process of adapting a film to graphic novel format is more of a process of distillation, where you look for the best way to take an existing work and represent it accurately on the page; in the case of WOLFWALKERS, we’re talking about a matter of switching mediums, so the question is: how do we make this work as a comic? But with UNICO: AWAKENING, we’re doing a full reimagining of Tezuka’s project. We’re honoring both Tezuka and the project, while creating something new. With UNICO: AWAKENING you’ll discover that some characters take on larger roles than they did in the original work, and a larger story forms in the backdrop to further explore Unico’s world.  

Lee: Can you speak at all about the process of writing the prologue and working with Tezuka Productions and Guruhiru Studios? 
Sattin: Working with Gurihiru and Tezuka Production is one of the singular most amazing experiences of my life. I’ve been following Gurihiru’s work for a long time, before they won an Eisner for SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN. In my eyes, besides being phenomenally talented, they have a unique ability to combine Japanese and Western comics art styles in a way that appeals to readers around the world. 

The scripting phase for the prologue was interesting. First, I worked on an extended story treatment, which Deb Aoki did a great editorial pass on. Then, I went into writing the script itself, which I’m continuing [to] work on at the moment. I read and reread the opening pages of the original Unico, and made sure to convey that we were going to homage those pages, while setting up a new Unico universe. Both Gurihiru and Tezuka Productions reviewed the script, and save for some minor changes revolving around stray dogs (long story), we ended up progressing to translation. Aki Yanagi, who is Gurihiru’s representative and a great all-around comics professional, did all of that, and acted as a bridge for communication. In the process, we ended up moving forward rather quickly, and Gurihiru began sending character designs that just melted my heart to putty. It’s all been a genuinely enthusiastic and forward-moving experience. 

Lee: Unico: Awakening is billed as a manga, and of course the original Tezuka work is a classic girls’ manga, but Guruhiru has extensive experience working in American comics in addition to their work in Japan. After reading the prologue, influences from both Japan and western comic traditions are apparent. Do you feel this is something that occurs naturally in the adaptation process? Does the context of publishing this work as a manga affect your process of writing the script? (As opposed to something like WOLFWALKERS that you adapted as a graphic novel.)
Sattin: This is a great question, thank you for asking it. For all of us working on this project, one of the main goals is to make UNICO: AWAKENING a genuinely collaborative project in terms of its appeal. Part of what’s so important about homaging Osamu Tezuka is that we honor his vision of comics being an international language. He truly [believed] that comics could be a form of Esperanto, and he believed in the idea of sharing ideas cross-culturally and creatively. For this reason, one of the goals of this project is to make something that isn’t relegated to a certain, set sensibility. Gurihiru’s art is perfect for this, since it does indeed blend Japanese and Western influences in ways that have allowed them to find success internationally. As a writer who really loves manga, western comics, and prose from all over the world, I have committed to working with everyone involved in UNICO: AWAKENING to ensure that we accomplish these goals to the best of my ability. 

Lee: What are you most excited about for the Unico Kickstarter? 
Sattin: Oh, I don’t believe I can limit my excitement to one thing! I’m excited about our book, of course. But really, I’m just excited by the way in which people are reacting to the project, and the amazing artists who have contributed prints and items we’re referring to as Artifacts. There’s so much beautiful work to get your hands on, and I hope to see Unico prints by Kamome Shirahama, Junko Mizuno, Akira Himekawa, Tomm Moore, Katie Longua, Soo Lee, and Peach Momoko hanging on walls around the world. 

Thank you Samuel for taking the time to answer my questions! To receive a copy of UNICO: AWAKENING when it’s completed and get your hands on some of the exclusive rewards mentioned above, check out the Kickstarter before it ends on June 3rd.

The post Interview with UNICO: AWAKENING Writer Samuel Sattin appeared first on Chic Pixel.

It’s not often I pick up a game based solely on a tweet, or find myself so enthralled by a game that I need to review it just to see more people talking about it, but here we are! Garage: Bad Dream Adventure came out on iOS and Android for the first time in English on December 16, 2021, and despite being an obscure Japanese video game with a unique, unsettling vibe, I’d never heard about it before my Twitter friend @furnuss posted about the release. (Update: As of July 2022, it is also available on PC!)

Immediately intrigued, I read up on the original game from 1999 and its journey to finally being released in English and knew I had to check it out. Since there seems to be very little talk about this exciting release, I had to share the news and my thoughts after fully completing the game!

Garage: Bad Dream Adventure is the brainchild of artist and designer Sakuba Tomomi, originally released in a run of only 3,000 units for PC and Mac in Japan in 1999 under the title Garage. Tomomi also illustrated a 1992 Japanese edition of Alice in Wonderland, and it’s no wonder – his art, just like the premise of Garage, is eerie and disquieting, but whimsical at the same time.

Despite being re-released in limited quantities through Tomomi’s personal website in the early 2000s, Garage was virtually inaccessible outside of Japan until a fan got their hands on a copy and uploaded the full game online in 2014. This, along with a few gameplay videos and trailers, fueled the interest in this notoriously weird game. While there was a fan translation, English-speaking fans had no official way of playing the game until a successful Campfire fundraising campaign funded a remaster and English and Chinese localizations.

The remaster, titled Garage: Complete Edition aimed to have a number of improvements beyond remastered graphics and being ported to smartphones. Tomomi writes that the original game was developed in 2.5 years, and while he did the best he could do at the time, he wanted to expand the game to have more story elements and better gameplay balance so that it could be enjoyed by even more people. The new, expanded story has 1.5 times the text of the original, providing more insight into the world and characters. Balance improvements to the gameplay include showing the player character’s position on the map and adding arrows to the screen to show what direction you can move to.

As someone who doesn’t play a lot of classic adventure games due to the difficulty often necessitating the use of a guide in order to proceed through the game, I greatly appreciate all of these additions. The game plays very smoothly, with characters almost always indicating clearly in the text what you should do or who you should talk to next. Over the 12 or so hours it took me to finish the game, I only really felt frustrated on two occassions where it’s not as clear what you need to do next.

So what kind of game is Garage: Bad Dream Adventure exactly? In essence, it is a bizarre point-and-click adventure game where you control an alien/fetus-like robot that lives in a sewer with a host of other, similarly creeply-looking, robots. When you wake up in your room, a series of notes provide a vague sense of how to proceed, and you slowly learn more about the nightmarish, grimy world of the sewer.

Aside from the striking visual design of both the characters and the world, the subtle soundtrack adds to the game’s unsettling atmosphere. It’s never scary, but something’s always a little off, and all the more so when you start to discover how things run in the sewers. Namely, male robots need to refuel by receiving milky fuel from female robots, which they create by eating crabs you catch throughout the sewer.

As a male robot, you have a fuel meter, and need to stop to refuel regularly throughout the game. The first time I had to do this I was rather shocked by exactly how the refueling actually works, but the phrase “milky fuel” probably gives you something of an idea. What first is just a necessity to keep your robot running slowly becomes a key aspect of the story as you realize how much the sewer world revolves around the availability of milky fuel and the female robots that provide it.

If it’s not clear from that description, the physiology of the robot bodies is a big focus of the game, and there is some body horror-style content. Again, I would not say this game is horrific or looking to scare the player specifically, but if weird body things bother you, it might be a good idea to do a quick Google to see if some of the imagery in the game bothers you before playing. There is also some subtle and somewhat less subtle nudity and sexual innuendo in the game, so be warned that this game isn’t really for children (though I know I wouldn’t have been able to play a game this creepy as a child!).

Gameplay-wise, you spend most of your time wandering around the sewer using an intricate track system built for the robots, learning about the surreal world by talking with the different characters, fishing, and upgrading your character’s robot body. In addition to fuel, you also have a limited amount of Ego – if your Ego gets too low, you’ll become “word lost” and unable to speak with the other robots. You can refuel your ego in a carousel or a pod – I have no idea why there is a carousel and it costs more to use than the pods, but you definitely need to try it at least once, because it’s weirdly adorable to see a fetus alien robot ride on a grimy theme park carousel.

Another major component of the game is fishing and setting bottle traps to catch bait, which can be used or traded for the game’s currency. I hope you like fishing, because there is a surprising amount of it, especially later in the game, as one of the major advancements in the story is directly related to catching one of the hardest fish to catch the game. To catch a fish, you’re required to tap the bar on the right-hand side of the screen and drag it up and down until the fish’s health meter is fully depleted, which gets harder as you go along. I found it easy to control on the iPad, but I could see it being a bit frustrating to manage on a smaller phone screen.

If you asked me whether I ever fully understood the story of Garage, the answer would be a resounding “no.” But I’ll be darned if I didn’t thoroughly enjoy every minute of this game! I’ve never played anything quite like it, and the enhancements made for the complete edition keep it from ever getting too frustrating (aside from the fact that I never fully remembered how to navigate in the game). I just wanted to keep exploring the world, talking to the weird characters that inhabit it and seeing what whacky thing would happen next.

I know there is probably a rather limited audience for Garage due to how weird it is both visually and from a story perspective, but if you made it through this review and have any mind to try it, I urge you to go download it immediately. It looks and runs great on iOS (the version I tried), and the English localization is very solid. It’s available for a steal at $4.99 on the North American iOS and Android* stores, and it is by far one of the most impactful gaming experiences I’ve had in years.

The post Garage: Bad Dream Adventure Review appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Idea Factory International’s first otome game localization in years, Cupid Parasite, is out today in North America, and Europe on November 5! This romantic comedy otome game is full of vibrant colors and a really fun retro pop Americana vibe, which is why I’ve had it on my radar since it came out in Japan. To celebrate this exciting release, I’ll be sharing some first impressions of the game, with a full review coming once I’ve completed all routes.

In Cupid Parasite, you play as Lynette Mirror, a top advisor for the marriage agency Cupid Corporation who takes on the 5 toughest clients at the company, known as the Parasite 5. Lynette has one thing up her sleeve, though – she’s the actual mythological goddess Cupid, and she’s come down to earth to prove to her father Mars that she doesn’t need godly powers to succeed at matchmaking humans.

The members of Parasite 5 have a range of extreme “quirks,” from the Thieving Parasite Allan who’s only interested in girls who already have partners to Ryuki, the Glamor Parasite who won’t even acknowledge a woman’s presence if she doesn’t satisfy his strict beauty ranking system. But Lynette isn’t going to let that stop her, and soon the group find themselves at the center of a sharehouse reality show focused on finding the Parasite 5 love!

So far, I’ve played through Ryuki’s route, which is generally recommended as one of the routes to start with because it’s pretty self-contained. On your first playthrough, the only characters available are Ryuki, Shelby, and Gill, and after your second playthrough the ability to play Allan and Raul’s routes will be unlocked. After clearing all five of these characters, there’s one more secret character route at the end. While I’ve seen some variation in the suggested route order, it seems like Ryuki, Shelby, and Gill are pretty interchangeable, while Allan should be saved for last due to the story elements in his route.

While I can’t yet comment on the story as a whole, I’m quite enjoying this game as a lighthearted palette cleanser after Olympia Soirée. Though both games are heavily focused on marriage, Cupid Parasite is so goofy it’s hard to take seriously most of the time. In fact, the Parasite 5 are all pretty unlikeable from the beginning, at least for me, so the game’s fun really comes from discovering the charming side of each of the characters.

Ryuki, in particular, is extremely difficult to like at first due to his focus on beauty, to the point that he won’t even speak to people he feels aren’t pretty enough for him to associate with. While his behavior is quite toxic, the whole game plays everything off sillily enough that I didn’t take him very seriously, but at times it still made me rather uncomfortable, and I can see him really turning off some players. Despite this, I still found him growing on me more than I expected over the course of his route!

It’s important to note that as of this post, and the launch of the game, Ryuki and Raul’s routes have unedited English text in them. Idea Factory International has announced it will be patching this, along with any text overflow, in about four weeks. For their full statement, see below.

Unfortunately, these textual issues are quite apparent in the latter half of Ryuki’s route, with pronouns being mixed up and many rough lines of text. Since IFI has already announced they are addressing these issues, if you can wait for the patch or want to play through other routes first, such as Shelby and Gill, I would recommend doing that. I’m not saying the game is unplayable by any means, but I did feel the unedited text in Ryuki’s route marred the experience for me.

I’m planning on replaying the latter half Ryuki’s route after the patch is implemented to see how it’s been updated. It’s a shame, but IFI has shown great transparency by sharing exactly what sections of the game are affected and how/when they will be fixing it.

For now, I’m looking forward to playing through the rest of the routes in this extremely fun and silly otome game!

The post First Impressions: Cupid Parasite appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Olympia Soirée is the latest in Aksys Games’ lineup of localized otome games from Japanese publisher Otomate, and it comes with an extremely high pedigree. Featuring art from acclaimed otome game artist Satoi (Diabolik Lovers, Ozmafia!!, Nil Admirari), a team including Nil Admiari‘s director Tanabe Wataru and scenario writer Yuma Katagiri, and an all-star cast of voice actors and a compelling fantasy narrative, it’s no wonder this release came with a lot of fanfare!

In Olympia Soirée, you play as Olympia, a young woman who is the last remaining survivor of her clan, and as a result, is the sole bearer of her clan’s duty to perform a ritual dance to keep the sun shining on the world. On her 18th birthday, she is finally able to enter society as a woman of marriageable age. However, the world is governed by a strict class structure, where people of different color clans are segregated and treated differently based on the color they are born into, with “colorless” people and criminals who break the class rules relegated to the underground world of Yomi.

As the last of the White clan, Olympia is allowed not only to travel to any color district, including Yomi, but also choose any suitor to be her husband, no matter their color affiliation. While she urgently wants to find a husband to bear children with and continue the White bloodline, her quest finds her exposed to more and more of the discrimination rampant among the color classes, and she becomes determined to do something to support the people of Yomi and change the world for the better.

Over the course of Olympia Soirée‘s six routes, many aspects of the game’s fantasy world are revealed, such as the fact that women are not allowed to go to school, and the “purest” color classes actually have the lowest birthrates, causing men of high-ranking colors to often go to Yomi and coerce the women there into sex to propagate their own color line. All of this is set against a fantasy backdrop with heavy Shinto motifs, such as the large torii gate being built to appease the local god, and Olympia praying to the sun god Amaterasu to keep the sun shining. There are quite a lot of dark themes in this game despite its colorful appearance, and while I had concerns with how such delicate and difficult topics as racism and classism would be handled by an otome game by a mainstream publisher, I was pleasantly surprised to find it mostly tackled with thoughtful care and consideration.

As a middle-class, white cis woman, I can’t speak definitively on how this game handles the above topics, and that would be a whole article in and of itself. From my perspective, the themes were given considerable attention in each of the routes, rather than just being window-dressing for a story ultimately only focused on romance. Olympia’s growing unease with the state of the world and yearning to find a way she can use her position to change things for the better is a focus throughout, with her relationships with each of the male characters and the revelations that come with them highlighting different aspects of the color-class-focused society, from the situations of the residents of Yomi to the pressures on primary color clan members living on the surface. There is another aspect to the story involving the threat of the world’s light going out, but that takes the backseat until later routes where the connections between everything are finally revealed.

A hefty visual novel, Olympia Soirée‘s common route took me about 5 hours to complete, with each character route averaging about 5 hours, as well. Interestingly, the common route doesn’t include any choices, instead offering you a simple portrait-based selection screen at the end where you choose which character’s route to play. At first, only four characters are available, with Himuka unlocking after the first four’s routes are completed, and Akaza’s unlocking after Himuka’s is completed. Generally, the first four can be played in any order, but the recommended order from the game’s scenario writer is Riku, Tokisada, Yosuga, and Kuroba, followed by Himuka and then Akaza.

As with most otome games, there are good endings and bad endings for each character. In this case, there are two bad ends and one good end, with an additional short side story that unlocks after completing a character’s good ending. While rape is a topic that comes up frequently in the game due to the themes involved, I think it’s important to mention here that some of the bad ends include more direct depictions of drugs, rape, and most shockingly, rape involving an underage character. These endings come up very suddenly and feel like they have just been added for the shock value, so if you want to avoid the aforementioned content, I would advise skipping them altogether. Luckily, it’s very easy to avoid the bad ends by quick saving at every choice and making sure you choose the “good” option that turns the meter to the left, or by following a guide.

In terms of the character routes themselves, this was one of the rare occasions where I found myself most enamored with male characters that didn’t appeal to me as much in the common route, namely Akaza and Riku. Both are very serious and curt, but they warm up to Olympia over the course of their routes, with Riku’s internal conflict, in particular, opening his route up to some great romantic tension. Meanwhile, it turns out Akaza is famous for his cooking, particularly his smoked meats, and I found it hilarious that Olympia’s desire to try it was brought up multiple times during his route. His story and romance seem the most fleshed out of all of the characters, which makes sense as his narrative really wraps up all of the loose ends of the story.

Adding to the overall presentation of the game is a standout soundtrack with Japanese-inspired motifs mirroring those in the story, and a solid localization on the part of Aksys Games. After noticing numerous typos and errors in Cafe Enchanté, I’m very pleased to say that there were very few issues in Olympia Soirée‘s script. Notably, there is voiced dialogue in the menus and additional dialogue that unlocks after beating certain endings, and the game has been patched since release to include subtitles for all of this audio. But while the sprite artwork and many of the CGs are gorgeous, you can tell that some of the CGs didn’t get as much care as others, with awkward posing and fewer details missing the mark when compared to Satoi’s character art.

Despite my apprehension with how the game would handle its premise, I found myself drawn in by the world and characters right from the get-go. Olympia starts off as an expressionless “doll” who has never interacted with the outside world, but she quickly grows into an inquisitive, strong-willed woman who is determined to do what is right not just for her clan, but for herself and the maligned groups of people in the world. I didn’t think I’d enjoy the focus on marriage and bearing children as the motivation for Olympia to quickly find a husband, but for the most part, I thought it was handled in an engaging way, with the characters, relationships, and story revelations in each route making me appreciate all six of the routes even if the romance wasn’t always my cup of tea (Tokisada, please stop calling Olympia “sis”!).

One other issue I had with Aksys Games’ previous otome game release, Cafe Enchanté, was the ending. Luckily, Olympia Soirée had a very satisfying ending that didn’t leave a bad taste in my mouth. That, combined with a more engaging story and lengthy character routes that allow each character plenty of time in the spotlight, makes Olympia Soirée my preferred of the two titles. Not only that, but it’s now up there with some of my favorite otome games available in English! If you’re comfortable with the darker themes and potentially disturbing bad ending content, I strongly recommend adding Olympia Soirée to your otome game library.

Disclaimer: I have an ongoing business relationship with Aksys Games. A game code was provided for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own.

The post Olympia Soirée Review appeared first on Chic Pixel.

My Dear Frankenstein is the latest English localization from Moonchime Studios, arriving just in time for spooky season. Developed by Japanese indie team Number7, this point-and-click adventure visual novel features a gothic tale inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and is available for PC and Mac as a digital download for $4.99 USD. If you’re looking for an atmospheric adventure game that deals with some dark themes without scares, this quaint game is the perfect Halloween romp.

You play as Adam, an adorable monster boy who has just awoken for the first time. He is quickly introduced to the other inhabitants of the house finds himself in, and encouraged to make himself at home. When a friendly ghost appears before him in his room, encouraging him to sneak out at night to explore the city of Shipberry and recover fragments of his scattered heart, Adam happily agrees.

The story that unfolds takes place over a series of nights where you explore the town as Adam, solving puzzles and talking to various residents. Gameplay consists of visual novel segments where you occassionally select among multiple choices and point-and-click adventure segments with puzzles to solve and objects to collect that will aid you in completing main missions as well as side and EX missions.

I was concerned that the point-and-click portions would be very obtuse, but the developers did a great job of providing hints and requirements to unlock the different things within the game. Once you complete the game with one of the five endings, there is even a chapter tree with information on what is generally needed to unlock the different endings without revealing too many details.

I personally am not much of a puzzle-solver, so I had some difficulties on a couple of the game’s puzzles, but I have a feeling it would be pretty standard fare for those more well-versed in point-and-click-style games. What kept me interested beyond the puzzles was the game’s gorgeous gothic aesthetic, which extended from the backgrounds to the eccentric cast of characters.

If you’re familliar with the Frankenstein story in general, you’ll probably have some ideas about where the mysteries of the story are headed pretty early on in the game. Still, I enjoyed learning about the town and its inhabitants. The game takes approximately 7 hours to go through, depending on you puzzle-solving speed, and greatly benefits from completing the side missions and different endings. If you prefer, it’s also possible to finish the game by only focusing on the main story and puzzles, and it’s very clear what about signposting what is and isn’t required for completion.

As long as you are comfortable with themes of suicide, cruelty, and references to death and the occult (content warning via Moonchime Studios) and don’t mind scratching your head over some point-and-click-style puzzles, My Dear Frankenstein is a gothic adventure with the perfect ambiance to get you in the Halloween spirit. I’m always glad to see more Japanese indie games available in English, and would definitely like to see more titles from Number7 in the future!

Note: A sample code was provided by Moonchime Studios for the purpose of this review.

The post My Dear Frankenstein Review appeared first on Chic Pixel.

The All Aksys stream this past Friday was chock full of exciting news for otome game fans! Aksys Games was kind enough to invite me to record a segment about the games to air during the stream, so I’ve been sitting on this news for a little while now… I could hardly contain myself! Anyway, if you missed the livestream, Aksys announced that they will be localizing four additional Otomate games, bringing their upcoming otome lineup to seven!

The new titles announced are Lover Pretend, Paradigm Paradox, Kimi wa yukima ni koinegau, and Piofiore: Episodio 1926, the sequel to Piofiore: Fated Memories. Plus, the upcoming three previously-announced otome games, Olympia Soirée, Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani, and Variable Barricade each now have a special Aksys store bonus soundtrack CD version available for preorder for an additional $10. Olympia Soirée is coming out very soon on September 9, so there’s not long to wait for more otome game goodness!

If you’d like to watch the recording of my appearance on the All Aksys stream and learn more about the titles, you can do so below! I’d recommend checking out the trailers over on the Aksys Games YouTube channel first so you can visualize the titles as Sami and I chat about them.

Since I already did a pretty summary of each title in the video, I’ll refrain from doing the complete overview again here. But since I didn’t really share my personal thoughts on the stream, I’d say I’m most excited for Lover Pretend, since it looks like a really fun romcom with gorgeous art and bright colors. Plus, it has Tomoaki Maeno, who plays Lupin in Code: Realize along with a lot of other great characters! Visual-Novel.Info has a great overview of the VAs in each announced title plus other otome/joseimuke roles they’ve had if you’d like more info (the site is in German but can be translated at the top left).

Paradigm Paradox also looks amazing because of the magical girl theme and the gender-bending aspect: each of the eight guys transforms into a magical girl! I don’t think that’s something I’ve seen in an otome game before (though as soon as I post this someone will probably remind me of one I’m forgetting) and I’m really excited to see how it plays out in the game. KimiYuki also looks great, though it’s a more series story and a historical setting, which is not always my favorite. But it has a killer voice actor cast and great art by the artist behind Clock Zero, so it’s shaping up to be really good, as well!

Of course, Piofiore: Episodio 1926 is a wonderful announcement for all of the fans of the first game. I haven’t played beyond the common route yet, so I need to get on it ASAP! What title are you looking forward to most? Let me know in the comments!

The post All Aksys Event Brings 4 Now Otome Game Localization Announcements appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Idea Factory International, the international branch of Otomate’s parent company Idea Factory, recently had a summer event stream where they announced not one, but two otome game localizations, and teased a third! Cupid Parasite was announced fall 2021 release (for those in the Northern Hemisphere), and a Birushana Senki: Genpei Hika Musou localization was confirmed without a release window specified.

This news is especially exciting as it marks IFI’s return to otome game localization! While Idea Factory is Otomate’s parent company, IFI hasn’t published any English otome games in quite a while. Previously, they took over the Hakuoki series from Aksys Games and put out Amnesia: Memories on PC and PSP, but there’s been nothing from them since then. And personally, Cupid Parasite is an otome game I’ve had on my wishlist for a while, so I’ll definitely be picking it up when it comes out! In fact, there’s even a limited edition available to preorder, though the contents haven’t been revealed yet.

Cupid Parasite follows a top bridal advisor for a company that specializes in finding the perfect match for their clients, but the secret to her success is that she’s actually the goddess of love, Cupid! She’s been tasked to find love for the company’s five most difficult clients, so she comes up with a plan to host a reality sharehouse-style TV show starring the five men.

I love the vibrant art in this game, which is done by Café Enchanté artist Yuuya. The scenario writer is Ririka Yoshimura, who also worked on Café Enchanté and the very well-regarded Ken ga Kimi. In terms of voice actors, if you enjoyed Shiraishi in Collar X Malice or Nicola in Piofiore, you’ll be pleased to know that their voice actor, Makoto Furukawa, plays the role of Allan Melville! Not only that, but Allan is an incubus who works in a luxury pillow store… No, I’m not making this up!

Other notable voice actors include KENN, voice of Shelby Snail (yup), who you probably know from at least half a dozen other anime and video games. He features as Limbo in the recent English otome game release Bustafellows, and plays Urianger in Final Fantasy XIV. Junya Enoki plays the fashion designer Ryuki F Keisaiin – you might know him from OZMAFIA!! as Hansel or Yuji from Jujitsu Kaisen. I could go on, but then we’d be here all day!

As for Birushana Senki, I’ll admit I haven’t followed that one as closely due to the fact that I’m not always that keen on historical dramas, but I know a lot of folks who have very good things to say about it, and the art is certainly gorgeous! This one takes place during the Heian period and features a heroine who is raised as a man to fight in the Genpei War after her father is killed.

Makoto Furukawa also features in Birushana as Minamoto no Yorimoto, and if you’ve played NEKOPARA – Catboys Paradise, you’ll recognise Sage’s VA Yuichiro Umehara as Benkei Musashibo! Taira no Shigehara is played by frequent otome game and anime voice actor Jun Fukuyama, who is also Mozu in Bustafellows, Tokiwa in the upcoming Aksys Games otome game Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani, and perhaps most famously, Lelouch in Code Geass.

As for that final, mystery game… Who can say? I’d love to hear your guesses in the comments! I’m still holding out hope that Otomate will give Moujuutsukai to Oujisama a second chance after its failed Kickstarter a few years back, but I’m not counting on it…

The post Cupid Parasite and Birushana Senki English Localizations Announced appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Neko Works, creators of the popular NEKOPARA series of visual novels about cute catgirls in cafes, made more than a few catboy fans very excited and then extremely disappointed back in 2019 when they revealed NEKOPARA – Catboys Paradise as an April Fool’s joke. But two years later, in a surprising turn of events, Neko Works announced that they were making the game “for real” due to fan interest! The free game was released today and I’ve had the pleasure to play through all the routes. I’m happy to report that it is indeed very cute and earnest, showing that Neko Works can cater to catboy as well as catgirl lovers.

In NEKOPARA – Catboys Paradise, you’re a young adult woman who has taken over running her late grandfather’s cafe (sound familiar?). To help you run the cafe are four live-in catboy employees who apparently go to school to learn how to be good catboys and prepare for a life of being owned by a human. In terms of story, it’s pretty rudimentary and really just a setting for you to watch cute interactions with the characters, as the game can be completed in 2 or so hours, depending on your reading speed. But despite this, I found myself surprisingly charmed by the four different characters and was really happy to find Catboys Paradise to be an earnest, polished experience despite its origins as an April Fool’s joke.

Of the four characters, I most enjoyed the route for “rare” male calico Dill, who loves fashion and makeup and is the “younger brother” type of the group. Fennel, the glasses-wearing butler-like cat who enjoys things like reading and Japanese history, was also a highlight. Each character has two CGs, and the routes involve getting to know them better as you and your employees learn the ins and outs of running a business on the fly. None of the routes have any real closure to them, but instead act as introductions to the world and characters, making the game feel almost like the prologue chapter of an otome game. Even so, the writing (with a solid English translation!), art, and voice acting were all so charming that I didn’t mind playing through the equivalent of a video game candy bar (short and sweet!).

Catboys Paradise doesn’t have any player choices outside of which character’s route to read through, but it includes a fun variety of reactions from the player’s perspective such as nodding in response to things the characters say. But since the experience is free and so short, I’ll refrain from saying much more and encourage you to go check it out for yourself on PC, iOS or Android. Keep in mind that unlike the NEKOPARA games, which have adult content, this game is a completely PG experience.

I hope that NEKOPARA – Catboys Paradise does well for Neko Works and encourages them to do more content with male characters in the future! If they keep up this level of polish, they have the potential to make some really enjoyable titles.

The post NEKOPARA – Catboys Paradise Review appeared first on Chic Pixel.

If you’ve frequented Chic Pixel before, you know I’m all about more inclusive video games – whether it’s the games themselves or the community surrounding them. That’s why I was super excited when friend of the site Gina Hara, coordinator and creative director at TAG, reached out to me to help get the word out about GAMERella Global, which is going online for the first time in 2021!

GAMERella is a free, learner-friendly and supportive game-making marathon, dedicated to finding ways to better serve people who are often excluded from traditional game-making spaces. That means anyone and everyone is welcome!

Founded in 2013, GAMERella has helped hundreds of people start making games through mentorship, industry connections, and career advice. It was conceived by folks including co-founder Gina Hara at Concordia University with the goal of making getting into game jams and game-making less intimidating. This year, the event will take place globally through Discord from July 9-11, so that means anyone can participate regardless of location. If joining a game jam sounds a little too daunting for you, there will also be workshops on topics such as scoring for games, character design, and how to break into the game industry. But if you’re ready to take the plunge and participate in the jam itself, get a leg up with this Intro to Game-Jaming video from the 2018 event.

They’re also looking for volunteer mentors, so if you happen to have a couple hours free this weekend and want to support the participants and provide some wisdom, check out the mentor call out.

I might not be making a game, but I’m very excited to see the workshops planned! You can sign up for GAMERella Global for free to get access to the Discord via Eventbrite. Who knows, maybe you’ll get some ideas for your first (or next!) game!

The post International Game Jam: GAMERella Global 2021 appeared first on Chic Pixel.

The Japanese shopping center chain Parco is teaming up with Nintendo for a massive Super Mario collaboration! First, around 60 stores are participating in the Item Collaboration Fair, which starts on July 1st, offering a range of exclusive Super Mario crossover merch (over 300 items total!). Then, Nintendo will be expanding it’s official Nintendo Store locations from its flagship Shibuya Parco location to other Parco centers in cities across Japan in a limited series of pop up shops over the next few months, allowing people who haven’t been able to go to the Shibuya location a chance to shop a range of great Nintendo products.

Finally, there’s Parco Grand Bazaar, which as far as I can tell is a regular Parco summer sale running from June 25 to July 11 with some Super Mario branding (the poster on the left in the image above).

I love when nerdy things cross over into fashion, so it’s really fun to see how all of the different bands are using the Super Mario brand for the giant Collaboration Item Fair starting on July 1. I was tipped off to this fun event by Thymine on Twitter, who posted about this amazing Angelic Pretty Princess Peach dress, complete with crown!

As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to check out what other collaboration items were available! I personally love how this lolita dress blurs the line between fashion and cosplay.

While Angelic Pretty doesn’t have any other clothing in the Super Mario collab, it is releasing a number of accessories: star and Boo-themed necklaces, rings, and earings. You know, I would proudly rock a sparkly Boo necklace.

I’m also a fan of the brand Samantha Thavasa, which often does collaborations with different pop culture media such as Sailor Moon. Both Samantha Thavasa and the spinoff brand Samantha Thavasa Petit Choice have Super Mario handbag and wallet designs, but the short and long wallets below are my favorites.

Finally, the kimono brand Kimono by Nadeshiko has a range of summer yukata with Super Mario designs! Check these out:

How cool are they?! The line comes with Super Mario obi (the sash you tie around kimono/yukata) as well as the yukata themselves, so you could style the Mario obi with a plain kimono for lots of fun looks such as the light blue yukata example above. I really like the black yukata, which looks like it’s depicting Mario in a castle or underground area (sorry I’m not a Mario expert). It’s not quite as flashy as the first bright blue example, and the M logos on the chest are reminiscent of the hakama Mario design!

There are tons more items in the Super Mario x Parco Item Collaboration Fair such as business ties, purses, and underwear, but these are some of the main standouts for me. You can view the whole list of participating stores and items on the official website. If you want to try to score any of these items outside of Japan, try to hit up the online stores on July 1. Make sure you have a proxy service set up!

The post Japan Envy: Super Mario x Parco Collaboration Item Fair appeared first on Chic Pixel.

MARS RED is a multimedia vampire narrative set in Taisho Era Japan originally conceived as a stage play by Bun-O Fujisawa performed in 2015. The story focuses on a secret vampire military unit of vampire hunters known as Code Zero and is currently in a rather delayed renaissance with the release of a manga in 2020, followed by an anime and a video game adaptation released in English for mobile phones on May 20, 2021. The game, titled MARS RED: Edge of the Nightmare, features an all-new storyline written by Bun-O Fujisawa and stars a character absent from the anime named Yatsufusa Yuki.

A recently-turned vampire, Yatsufusa gets found by the Code Zero unit and introduced to Tenman-ya, a shop that hires vampires for various tasks and pays them in donated blood, removing their need to feed directly from humans. During his life, Yatsufusa was a disappointment to his military family, and even as a vampire he feels he has little to live for (he has suicide ideation, so content warning for that). Despite this, he becomes entangled with the staff of Tenman-ya and members Code Zero, assisting them with vampire-related investigations and other tasks, slowly growing friendships and connections to both vampires and humans.

MARS RED: Edge of the Nightmare is almost entirely a visual novel, but there are some adventure game-style investigation sequences in addition to the usual text-based choices. You play through each chapter using tickets and a currency called Amber, which can be accumulated for free or purchased. You receive five tickets per day that reset at midnight regardless of how many you’ve used, so it’s a good idea to get into a rhythm to play five chapters per day. There aren’t any branching paths aside from bad ends, but it is possible to fail investigations, requiring you to replay a chapter.

Generally, each of the currently available chapters focuses on an overarching investigation related to vampires, with intertwining side stories that flesh out the various characters. I really didn’t like gloomy Yatsufusa at the beginning, but it was nice to see him grow to understand and appreciate his place in the world and forge connections with the other characters. Of the Code Zero vampires, the boyish Suwa who needs to wear a gas mask to keep the scent of blood from causing him to lose control was my personal favorite. He gets more backstory in Chapter 6, which was great to see! There are also additional vignettes that can be obtained through the gatcha which include new illustrations and further flesh out the characters.

Honestly, a highlight of the game for me when I was first introduced to it by the publisher favary was the voice actor cast, which includes Junichi Suwabe as the grouchy-looking leader of Code Zero, Maeda Yoshinobu. However, while you get to hear the cast in all their glory in the anime, the game is only very lightly voiced, consisting of short grunts or exclamations that play briefly at the beginning of every new dialogue line.

The anime also focuses more heavily on Code Zero, rather than filtering the narrative through a peripheral character of the unit like the game. If you’re watching and enjoying the anime and want to see more of the world and characters, I’d recommend the game as fun additional content that expands on the MARS RED universe. However, if you’re coming to the game first, you might find the pacing slow, especially at the rate of only being able to play five or so chapters a day for free. In order to write this review, I was given plenty of Ambers by the publisher to play through the story at my own pace without needing to wait for tickets to reset or collect Ambers to unlock new chapters, but even still I found it hard to get into the story as someone with no prior introduction to the world of MARS RED.

Another issue I had was the investigations, which ask you to tap areas of the screen to reveal clues. However, it was often extremely difficult to read what they wanted you to tap from the image, and I often found myself tapping everywhere possible on the screen for a solid minute or two before I stumbled into all of the things required to progress the chapter. Also, while the localization overall is pretty solid, there were some areas where it felt pretty stiff or could use an edit. 

After playing through some of the game, I decided to check out the anime for additional context, which definitely helped me feel more attached to the characters and narrative. The anime has a great style that is slightly different from the game, and watching it first may give an impression that certain characters are featured more prominently in the game than they are so far. While I can’t say I’ve fallen in love with the world of MARS RED, I like the Taisho Era setting and cast of male vampires including middle-aged and elderly characters, which I feel is hard to come by! If the game introduces a compelling villain, which is what it feels like it’s building up to, I think that would even more invested.

You can check out the full MARS RED: Edge of the Nightmare game for free on iOS and Android. For more information, visit the official website. The anime is available on Funimation (internationally) and AnimeLab (Australia).

The post MARS RED: Edge of the Nightmare Review appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Moonchime Studios announced today that they are localizing two new Japanese indie games for PC, the 18+ BL title Tokyo Onmyoji -The Tale of Rei Tengenjibashi- (Japanese title 東京陰陽師) and the point and click adventure game My Dear Frankenstein (Japanese title 愛しのフランケンシュタイン). Tokyo Onmyoji is scheduled to release for PC on JAST USA and other unannounced platforms in Q4 2021, and My Dear Frankenstein will release for PC and Mac on Steam this summer (winter if you’re in the southern hemisphere).

Both titles look really fun, but I’m particularly excited to see another publisher releasing BL games in English, and this is Moonchime‘s first foray into the genre after their first localization, the otome game I Love You!, released for PC for free in late 2020. Tokyo Onmyoji by Holicworks was originally released in Japan in 2014 and centers on Rei Tengenjibashi, an onmyoji for hire who exterminates demons. There are four romanceable characters, gorgeous art by Akira Sakamoto and fully-voiced characters. For more information on the story and cast, see Moonchime’s official announcement.

My Dear Frankenstein has a lovely fairytale-like art style and features a story inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Players control Adam, a newly-created monster who must explore the City of Shipberry for pieces of his heart that were scattered throughout. Players who like point-and-click adventure games and moving narratives should keep an eye out for a release date in the upcoming months! You can read more about My Dear Frankenstein on Moonchime’s announcement page.

Both of these games look right up my alley, so I’m really excited to check them out when they’re released! Moonchime Studios is shaping up to be a publisher to follow closely if you like visual novels and alternative indie Japanese games. I can’t wait to see what titles get added to their lineup in the future!

The post Tokyo Onmyoji BL Game and My Dear Frankenstein Localizations Announced appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Café Enchanté is the latest in a growing list of otome game localizations for the Nintendo Switch by Aksys Games, and right off the bat, it had me hook, line, and sinker. Coffee? Check. Monster boys? Check. Stellar development team? Check. With gorgeous art by Yuuya (Cupid Parasite), a scenario by staff who also worked on Code Realize, and a narrative centering around a quaint cafe with other-worldly patrons, I had high hopes for this one right off the bat. Read on for my full, spoiler-free review!

In Café Enchanté, you play as Kotone, a young working woman who is utterly miserable in her office job. When her grandfather passes away and leaves his cafe to her, she’s reminded of all of the wonderful times she spent there as a child and decides to take a leap of faith and quit her job to take on managing the cafe full time. Little does Kotone know that this cafe is extra special because inside it is a portal to other realms! She soon gets caught up in the lives (and, of course, drama) of all of the other-worldly patrons of the cafe, along with the human organization tasked with making sure the order between worlds remains stable.

For this review, instead of following a guide from the beginning, I decided to take my chances with my answers in the common route and see whose route I ended up with first. After an extremely beefy common route which frankly dragged on a bit too long for my tastes, I found myself thrust into the otome game-loving angel Il’s route. Il has one of the more story-heavy routes so guides usually suggest playing his route later on, but I appreciated getting to see more of the interesting sides of the story earlier on to really get me hooked on the game. The other three initial routes don’t have as much of a connection to the overarching narrative, so they tend to feel more like side stories than major contributors to the large plot points explored in the final route.

After Il, I played through Canus and Ignis, followed by Rindo. I like to think of this as lukewarm buns around an extra spicy patty, because Ignis was by far my favorite, and I had anticipated as much going in. Aside from Il, all of the other pre-Misyr routes felt rather short, especially after the super long common route. Nothing felt more lackluster than Canus’ super short route that didn’t feel nearly satisfying enough in terms of the romantic development between Kotone and Canus, which was honestly rather disappointing because I had high expectations for a headless horseman route! Still, I really enjoyed how different each route was in terms of the characters’ worlds and individual backstories, though “I’m a horrible monster so we can never be together” is a recurring theme in more than one route.

Rindo, who is voiced by Junichi Suwabe and is both the oldest man and the most “boring” of the lineup due to the fact that he’s just a regular human dude, was a sleeper hit for me. His route was surpisingly fun and had a lot of twists and turns I wasn’t expecting! After Ignis, he might actually be my favorite.

Once you get the good end for each of the other characters, you’ll unlock the ability to play Misyr’s route. Though the other routes don’t have much crossover in terms of story, elements of each are referenced in Misyr’s route, and major plot points are revealed over the course of it, making it the clear true route in terms of romance and narrative development. Without spoiling anything, I was very interested to see more of Misyr from the beginning due to his fun and sassy personality, but I didn’t end up being very satisfied with how the story developed in his route. In particular, the final after-credits scene left me with more of a grimace than a smile.

Plot points aside, the world of Café Enchanté was one I very much enjoyed being in. All of the supporting characters were a lot of fun, and despite feeling that the common route dragged on a bit, all of the individual character routes helped me grow to appreciate the characters and their interactions with one another. I’d definitely like to see a fan disc that fleshes out some more of the side characters, but I feel like I shouldn’t get my hopes up, especially since this game doesn’t seem to get nearly the same fanfare as other Nintendo Switch otome games in Japan…

One thing I do need to discuss that marred the experience of playing Café Enchanté in English was the rather patchy localization. For almost every route (the one notable exception being, oddly, Rindo’s), the text was often riddled with a range of errors, such as one character named Kororo being referred to as Kokoro multiple times and inconsistently gendered. I wish the LQA had caught more of these hiccups, as these types of issues really take you out of the experience when playing a text-heavy game like an otome game.

Even so, I had a great time with Café Enchanté and recommend it to anyone who likes otome games and enjoys fantasy themes. If you like coffee and/or super quaint cafes, all the better. Café Enchanté has the perfect mix of fluff and angst, and plenty of monster boys to go around!

This post contains affiliate links. Any purchase made with my affiliate link goes directly back to supporting the site!

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DRAMAtical Murder may very well be the most well-known BL (boys’ love) game in Japan – it’s even inspired an anime adaptation and stage play! The third game from developer Nitro+CHiRAL, DRAMAtical Murder was originally released in 2012 and received a fan disc as well as a PS Vita port that removed the graphic 18+ content. Now, the game is finally available to purchase in English thanks to JAST BLUE as part of their ongoing endeavor to localize Nitro+CHiRAL’s complete game catalog.

Since I’d never played the Japanese release beyond the first few hours of the PS Vita version, I couldn’t wait to see if DRAMAtical Murder lived up to all of the praise! 

DRAMAtical Murder is an 18+ BL visual novel that features a candy-colored cyberpunk world and a swoon-worthy cast of male characters, complete with often adorable AI companions called AllMates. The main character, the blue-haired Aoba, works at a junk shop while navigating life on an island where he lives segregated from a section called Platinum Jail, a resort where the rich and elite enjoy never-ending fun. Between the virtual reality game Rhyme and the physical combat-focused gang wars Ribstiez, not to mention the yakuza and police, Aoba has his hands pretty full. As you play through the game’s five main routes, you’ll learn more about Aoba and his past, the various characters who enter his life, and the sinister corporation at the center of it all.

So far, JAST BLUE has released two other games by Nitro+CHiRAL, sweet pool and Togainu no Chi ~Lost Blood~. The order of release initially raised some questions due to the overwhelming popularity of DRAMAtical Murder among English-speaking fans. After having played both sweet pool and Togainu no Chi, though, I can definitely see why it could be difficult to follow up a release of DRAMAtical Murder with the other two (it should be noted that DRAMAtical Murder came out after the other two in Japan). 

As it stands, my Nitro+CHiRAL background meant that as I was playing through DRAMAtical Murder, bopping along to the amazing soundtrack, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. You can check out my sweet pool and Togainu no Chi reviews for a better idea of each game, but to put it succinctly: both games are extremely dark and twisted and offer very little respite from those themes. By comparison, the plot and characters of DRAMAtical Murder are a walk in the park. For the most part, the other shoe never really drops aside from the bad endings and Mink’s route, but then the darker aspects of these feel almost out of place compared with the rest of the game.

If you’re going into the game with no experience with Nitro+CHiRAL’s previous titles, be warned that it’s not solely a syrupy sweet experience the screenshots may imply. I recommend viewing the mature content description on the Steam page before taking the plunge. However, I actually found myself surprised by the lack of shocking content compared with Nitro+CHiRAL’s other games. As I mentioned, if you follow a guide and skip the bad endings, you’ll avoid a lot of the more disturbing content (aside from Mink’s route). I can’t comment on the all-ages Steam version since I played the full 18+ version for this review, but the all-ages version is also an option if you’d prefer not to see the 18+ content but still want the story.

In terms of DRAMAtical Murder‘s story and characters, I thoroughly enjoyed all of it, but never found myself falling completely in love with any one element or person. The story has notes that remind me of Togainu no Chi, particularly the aspects of evil corporations/scientists experimenting on people and an impressive amount of worldbuilding, but DRAMAtical Murder does a much better job at creating an interesting world without spending forever explaining everything to the player. Instead of feeling burnt out on jargon and convoluted plotlines (though there is certainly some of that), I left the game wanting to know more about the world and its inhabitants.

The characters often make or break a visual novel, and I had my own personal favorites in DRAMAtical Murder. As I’ve alluded to already, Mink’s character and route was a particularly rough one, both due to themes of sexual abuse and the problematic way indigenous culture is used handled visually and narratively. Funnily enough, his route felt like the most Nitro+CHiRAL of them all… But on the flip side, there is one awesome female character – Aoba’s grandmother, Tae. It was always a joy when she came on screen, and I’m always happy to see more varied portrayals of women in BL media. Aside from Tae, the characters I enjoyed the most were Koujaku, Clear, and Noiz. Each of their routes fleshed out the characters nicely and developed the story in interesting directions, though all abruptly end after a certain event. This left the most important questions to be answered in a somewhat hastily fashion at the end of the secret final route.

For this reason, it’s absolutely necessary to play through all of the routes (though you can skip the bad ends if you’d rather not play them). As I do for most of my visual novel reviews, I used a guide and followed the recommended play order. I honestly have no idea how anyone would get the final route otherwise!

Overall, I have a lot of positive things to say about DRAMAtical Murder. While it may not have been memorable from a shock factor (that award goes to sweet pool for me), the music and overall aesthetic were top-notch, and many of the routes were very enjoyable. JAST BLUE did an amazing job on the localization, as well, making the game a breeze to read through with witty text and no clunky grammar to be found. For all of these reasons, DRAMAtical Murder is an easy recommendation for BL fans, and I hope we’ll be seeing the fan disc, Re:connect, in English sometime in the future!

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It’s been a while since I just wrote something, but I just had to share this adorable pin Kickstarter by the super cool chottomatte.nini aka Gabs from Instagram! The design is for anyone who wants to rep their love for the underappreciated PS Vita and all the otome games released for it!

The Kickstarter reached its goal in just 8 days, which means you’re guaranteed to receive a pin if you back it now! The pin is 2.5 inches with rose gold plating and lovely pastel colors, and you can pledge at £12 to receive a “flawed” B-grade pin. Unfortunately, there aren’t any of the flawless/A grade tier left, but more may be added if pledges increase.

Gabs also has an awesome Etsy store that she has been running for just half a year, but already has nearly 500 sales! And it’s not hard to see why – in addition to a sticker version of the 2D Boys Machine design, she also has a range of super cute sticker sheets, keychains, washi tape and more.

If you like otome games, journaling, or just cute things in general, Gabs is definitely someone to keep an eye on! Now, I think I need to get back to playing some otome games on my Vita!

The post Handheld Console Enamel Pin – 2D Boys Machine Kickstarter appeared first on Chic Pixel.

If there’s one thing I like nearly as much as playing Monster Hunter, it’s looking at the series’ amazing art! The Monster Hunter Illustrations books are gorgeous artbooks for people like me who can’t get enough of exactly that. As of this October, Udon Entertainment has localized the third book in the series, Monster Hunter Illustrations 3.

Monster Hunter Illustrations 3 covers Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (4G), my favorite Monster Hunter game to date, so needless to say I was especially excited to get my hands on this one! The artbook includes monster art, armor sets, weapons, iconography, backgrounds, NPC art, rough sketches of things that didn’t make it into the final game, and more. As a hardcover with 376 pages, it’s extremely comprehensive and makes a great companion to Monster Hunter Illustrations 1 and 2.

The monster designs in Monster Hunter are especially interesting to me because of all of their real-world inspiriations, making it fascinating to read about how they were designed. Notes from the developers provide insights into their design and the physiology of the monsters that give more context to how they are depicted in the games themselves.

Whatever you want to know about Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate‘s creature or world designs, you’ll find it here! Unlike the previous two Illustrations books, this one is in hardcover, which would make it an even better coffee table book, in my opinion! Udon Entertainment provided me with a digital copy for review, so I can’t comment on that aspect of the presentation, but if the previous two Illustrations are any indication, it should be very solid indeed.

Another highlight of the Monster Hunter games for me are the amazing armor designs, so of course I spent a lot of time enjoying this part of the book. There are so many cool designs, both ones that made it into the final game, and alternate versions that were discarded along the way. It’s so fascinating how the different armor incorporate different aspects of the monster designs!

I think my only complaint regarding Monster Hunter Illustrations 3 is related to the layout of the previous two books, too – I understand why the sections are grouped by types (monsters, armor, wepaons, etc.), but it would be nice to see all of the armor and weapons for one monster grouped together with the monster to better see the connections between the designs, rather than having to flip back and forth through the book.

That doesn’t really detract from the book as it is now, though. All in all, this is a must-have addition to any Monster Hunter fan’s collection, especially if you like Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate as much as I do!

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It’s been a while since I just wrote a blog post that wasn’t a review! The news that Hello Kitty was appointed as the Copyright PR Ambassador of Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs seemed like the perfect time to mention my latest co-authored article on the Sanrio series Sanrio Danshi… Well, that news came out in August, and my article came out all the way back in April, so it’s not exactly timely, but time doesn’t pass the way it usually does in 2020, right?

Hello Kitty as the PR ambassador for copyright law is particularly apt, since Sanrio is notoriously strict when it comes to upholding their own copyright, even when it comes to fan-produced materials (this Reddit post is a good overview). In fact, when the Sanrio Danshi anime came out in 2018, this Twitter post (shared from Facebook) warning fans not to make fan merch was highly circulated.

So what will Hello Kitty do as Copyright PR Ambassador? Apparently, she’ll appear in various informational videos and other materials on copyright infringement. Since it’s been a couple of months since the initial news, I thought I’d have a look to see if any of these materials have been released yet, but unfortunately, I didn’t find anything online.

And what does that have to do with my not-so-recently published paper? Well, Dr Simon Gough and I wrote a paper about Sanrio Danshi as a Sanrio media mix centered around character merchandise that exists to promote the consumption of Sanrio’s of other character merchandise, i.e. Hello Kitty. So, only tangentially related, but at this point, if I don’t talk about this paper now, I don’t know when I will!

Material Multiplicites and Sanrio Danshi: The Evolution of Sanrio’s Media Mix is open source, so you can read the entire thing right now if you’re so inclined! It was a lot of fun to research and write, plus I even got to include some photos of merch I took in Japan. It was also a great excuse to trawl through the Sanrio Danshi Twitter account for choice images like the one above.

Speaking of the Sanrio Danshi Twitter account, it employs many of the same techniques as the recent League of Legends Seraphine account, which made waves when the fictional character posted about quitting her day job and asked for words of support from fans (that she then printed out and hung up on a board for motivation). So, pretty relevant, right? If you end up checking my article out, let me know what you think in the comments!

The post Hello Kitty, Copyright, and My New-ish Co-written Paper appeared first on Chic Pixel.

The Wonderful 101 is among the company of Pikmin 3 as one of a handful of Wii U games that actually attempted to utilize the gamepad in different ways. That made them seem like they couldn’t be translated to single-screen systems, but the developers have managed! And that’s a great thing, because now with The Wonderful 101 Remastered, more players have the chance to pick up one of PlatinumGames’ most unique titles.

Developed by PlatinumGames and originally released in 2013, The Wonderful 101 is an action-adventure game where you control a slew of superheroes called Wonderful Ones (of which there are, unsurprisingly, 100) to fight aliens. With its cartoony art style and isometric view, it looks and feels a bit like Viewtiful Joe plus Pikmin, which makes sense considering both Viewtiful Joe and The Wonderful 101 were directed by Hideki Kamiya and produced by Atsushi Inaba.

In addition to standard attacks for the main Wonderful One you’re currently controlling and a group attack to direct your current minions, The Wonderful 101 Remastered‘s gameplay consists of drawing various symbols with the right analog stick, mouse, or on the Switch touch screen or Dualshock touchpad depending on the system you’re playing on (the remaster is available for PC, Switch, and PS4). This initiates different Unite Morphs, which are Power Rangers/tokusatsu-style weapons created by assembling all of the Wonderful Ones.

For the most part, these symbols can be drawn relatively easily with the analog stick or the touch screen – in my case, I played on the Switch, usually in handheld mode, but I found it too cumbersome to do the touch screen input in the heat of battle. In fact, The Wonderful 101 Remastered has a pretty high learning curve, and I pretty quickly found things surprisingly tough on the normal difficulty despite being familiar with the “Platinum standard.”

It doesn’t help that when playing on the Switch on portable mode – one of my favorite ways to play games these days – everything is much too small, from the characters to the text as well the popup menu that has replaced the Wii U’s second screen. The Wonderful 101 is definitely built for the big screen, which makes sense since it originally came out on the Wii U. Plus, it has the perfect Saturday morning cartoon feel!

Adding to the Saturday morning cartoon feel is the game’s levels, which are divided into operations. You’re scored on each operation, encouraging replays, and between each operation, you can purchase upgrades and new abilities. There are some new additions to the menu such icons that indicate upgrades that are recommended to purchase, but the remaster wouldn’t suffer by having a better introduction to the surprisingly complex gameplay mechanics.

Unfortunately, after a handful of hours with The Wonderful 101 Remastered, I still didn’t really feel like I had my head around the gameplay, unlike PlatinumGames titles such as Bayonetta or Nier Automata where I quickly clicked with the combat. The characters and dialogue, however, are humorous and endearing, and each new antic brought a smile to my face.

If you have the patience to stick with it long enough to get the hang of the fast-paced gameplay, you’ll be rewarded with a lighthearted, arcade-style experience. It may take me a while to chip away at it, but as a fan of PlatinumGames’ unabashed style and dedication to creating unique experiences, I’m going to do my best to see The Wonderful 101 Remasteredthrough!

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Here it is, my very first light novel review! You may have guessed as much from the trademark surprisingly long light novel title, Hello, I am a Witch and My Crush Wants Me to Make a Love Potion! (どうも、好きな人に惚れ薬を依頼された魔女です。). The English translation was released by Cross Infinite World earlier this year, and when I saw it was a heartwarming fantasy romance featuring a witch, I had a feeling it would be exactly the kind of cozy read I’ve been looking for this year.

Hello, I am a Witch and My Crush Wants Me to Make a Love Potion! is by Eiko Mutsuhana with illustrations by Vient and an English translation by Charis Messier. The story opens with a feisty yet hermit-like Good Witch of the Lake named Rose, who has harbored a four-year one-sided crush on a Royal Knight named Harij, at her wits end when Harij appears at her cottage asking her to make him a love potion.

In an effort to extend their time together, she sends him on difficult tasks to gather ingredients for the potion, knowing that once the potion has been made their limited time together will end. However, Harij catches wind of her poor diet (she subsists only on lettuce?!) and starts showing up with delicious foods from town, but Rose can’t figure out why he’d go to such kind lengths for her.

You can probably guess where this is going, but in an effort not to spoil the story beyond the basic premise, I’ll leave it there (but your guess is probably correct). It’s been a while since I read a purely romance-focused narrative, and I have to say it was a really pleasant experience! The illustrations interspersed throughout the book were always a pleasure to see, and the English translation was very solid without significant errors or oddities that took me out of the experience, aside from some of Rose’s angry outbursts which I assume were similar in the Japanese version.

In terms of the story, Rose’s four-year crush on Harij seemed quite unbelievable to someone like me who grew up not being able to go a couple of weeks without telling my crush that I liked them, but aside from that, I enjoyed seeing Rose and Harij’s relationship develop over the course of the book. If you’re looking for a fantasy narrative with major conflicts, you won’t find any here – just a nice cozy story of two characters bumbling their way through their feelings for one another, complete with silly misunderstandings due to miscommunications, and maybe a little bit of magic.

Aside from some rather predictable storytelling and a bit of annoying dialogue/internal dialogue from Rose, I quite enjoyed my time with this cute and cozy light novel. The world that surrounds the two main characters is developed enough to be interesting, particularly how witches fit into the fantasy society, but there’s no bloated lore or worldbuilding that can sometimes bog down fantasy stories.

While I felt that their story didn’t necessarily need to be continued beyond where things left off at the end of this volume, there is a second volume coming out in English in December, and I’ll be more than happy to read more of Rose’s sweet witchy days with Harij.

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The ability to play the Nintendo Switch in both handheld mode and docked means it’s my go-to console to bring when traveling, visiting friends, or when I’m called in for last-minute entertainment at a work function. But while it’s super portable, the folks at Human Things decided to see if they could make Switch could be even more portable by shrinking the dock down to less than 10% of its original size. The result? The Genki Covert Dock!

There have certainly been times when I fully intended to bring my Switch dock with me, but then forgot because it’s always in a special place of honor on my TV stand. Well, with the Genki Covert Dock, I can have a small, dedicated device for when I want to take my Switch on the go while still having the option to plug in and play on a TV!

The Genki Covert Dock comes with a USB Type-C cable for connecting to the Switch, as well as a global adaptor set so that you can connect to power almost wherever you go. While it doesn’t come with an HDMI cable, which you’ll need to connect your Switch to a screen, if you’re anything like me you probably have a few lying around.

Here’s the dock with the Switch itself. It’s hard to believe this is all you need to connect your Switch to a TV screen! It also has foldable prongs, which is another awesome aspect for travel, but since I live in Australia and need to attach one of the adaptors to connect to outlets here, I probably won’t be disconnecting it to fold in the prongs very often.

In addition to its primary use as a Switch dock, the Genki Covert Dock USB Type-C PD 3.0 port can charge all sorts of devices, and it supports USB-A 3.1 accessories such as controllers or USB drives. And of course, there are tons of other use cases for the HDMI output aside from connecting the Switch to a TV!

Using the Genki Covert Dock, I was able to quickly and easily connect my Switch to my second monitor without having to worry about disconnecting the original dock from its place of honor by the TV. At $75.99 USD, it may feel a little on the pricey side, but considering Nintendo charges $89.99 USD for the official dock, it’s a comparable rate if you want to add an extra-portable dock to your gaming bag. I’m pretty smitten with mine, and I bet you will be too!

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2020 has been a great year for boys’ love (BL) game localizations so far. First, we had Togainu no Chi ~Lost Blood~ from JAST Blue, and now MangaGamer is following with Room No. 9. Room No. 9 is significant as developer parade’s latest BL title, following No, Thank You!!!, which, when MangaGamer released the English version five years ago, it was the first major BL game localization since Enzai: Falsely Accused back in 2006. Seeing as No, Thank You!!! was a very enjoyable title, I’ve been very interested to see what parade’s next game would be like.

From the onset, Room No. 9 is a very different beast from No, Thank You!!!. For starters, instead of having multiple characters to romance, the game centers around just two characters, Daichi and Seiji. Best friends since they were young, the pair decide to go on a vacation to Okinawa together after Daichi is left jilted by the girlfriend he originally intended to take on a fancy summer getaway.

Then, the story takes a turn for the worse – the pair arrive in Okinawa, step onto a bus heading to their hotel, and the next thing they know, they’re stuck in a locked hotel room and are told that they are now being forced to take part of some kind of behavioral study.

This behavioral study requires Daichi and Seiji to complete one of two tasks every day for ten days in order to finish the study and be set free. If they refuse to do either of the tasks for 24 hours, they will be penalized by not receiving meals and being stuck in the room indefinitely. Of course, the tasks aren’t just any kind of tasks – they revolve around either Seiji harming Daichi, or Daichi and Seiji engaging in various sexual activities.

Every time Daichi and Seiji pick an option, the next day’s option in that “category” increases in difficulty, thus causing them increased turmoil over what they should do. And who even knows if they will actually be set free when they complete the designated tasks?

As you can imagine, this game definitely isn’t for everyone. Like Nitro+chiral’s sweet pool, you could also argue about whether or not the content is strictly BL, as the men engaging in sexual acts are best friends doing things against their will. The physical harm tasks aren’t the only difficult-to-stomach scenes in the game, as the sex the two are forced to perform also involves various levels of physical restraint, humiliation, and more. There is an option to turn some of the more explicit imagery off, but the textual descriptions of what’s happening will still remain.

Like sweet pool, Room No. 9 has stuck with me long after I finished the game’s six endings (split between three routes). Also like sweet pool, I’m honestly having a difficult time deciding whether or not I actually liked the experience.

It may be the current situation the world is in in August 2020, but some of the content was just too bleak for me at times. With each day of the pair’s confinement revolving around the different tasks they have to complete, there’s not a lot of room for a breather between the intense moments after the game’s initial setup. Also, there is quite a lot of sex, and as you can probably glean from the premise, most of it doesn’t leave you feeling particularly good afterward. Luckily, the game is pretty short and to the point, so the intensity didn’t completely overwhelm me during my time playing it.

One area I was hoping to see explored more that unfortunately turned out to be little more than setup for the activities that followed was the premise of the behavioral study. Who was conducting it, and why would they conduct such a study in the first place? Those looking for answers like me will not find them here.

Originally I was disappointed by this, but upon reflection, the game’s tight runtime and focus on just two characters really allows it to explore Daichi and Seiji’s friendship, as well as their individual personalities and how their time in captivity impacts them. By the end of the game, I was very attached to these sweet boys who just wanted to have a nice summer vacation together! It was also interesting to consider whether one or both may have had feelings beyond friendship for the other (Or not! That’s okay too.).

While it’s hard for me to recommend Room No. 9 without a bunch of caveats (read all of the content warnings!), if you enjoyed sweet pool, No, Thank You!!!, or find yourself excited by the idea of a Saw-esque BL game, then you’d very likely enjoy your time with Room No. 9. As a BL visual novel package, the presentation is top-notch, from the localization to the art and the voice acting. But, if you think you might be too faint of heart for an intense, bleak experience (especially right now), I wouldn’t blame you for giving it a skip. It will always around if you later decide that you’re ready!

If you’ve played Room No. 9 and want to hear an in-depth discussion of the game’s routes and themes, check out the special episode of Pixel x Pixel!

The post Room No. 9 Review appeared first on Chic Pixel.

When I heard the upcoming platformer Eternal Hope by Brazilian developer Doublehit Games was inspired in part by the works of Studio Ghibli, it immediately caught my interest. The game is scheduled to launch on PC on August 6 and Xbox One later this year, and was voted “Best Brazilian Game” by IGN at Brazil Game Show 2019, and it’s not hard to see why – the visuals are striking, and it looks like it will be perfect for those who like puzzle platfomers.

I had the opportunity to try out the prologue, which is available for PC for free now ahead of the game’s full release on August 9. While I don’t generally tend to love platformers, I’ll play anything with the right kind of charm, and I can’t stop having good things to say about the Rayman Legends series, so I wasn’t going to let my sometimes (read: often) frustrations with platformers get in the way of checking out Eternal Hope!

The Eternal Hope prologue immediately conjures up comparisons to other games – be it Limbo, Heart of Darkness, or Shadow of the Colossus. You play as Ti’bi, who embarks on a journey to bring his girlfriend’s heart back from the Shadow World. To do so, he’s given a mysterious power to shift between realms, and there he finds friends that will aid him on his quest, as well as a fair share of enemies.

Aesthetically, the game is a treat both visually and audibly, and it’s easy to see Ghibli comparisons to some of the creatures. While there weren’t any super difficult puzzles in the prologue, I enjoyed using Ti’bi’s power to switch between realms to figure out how to advance through an area. It was always a delight to see what kind of creature was hiding in the Shadow Realm! And since Ti”bi’s power is limited, there are some fun ways the developers play with the limited time you have to switch between realms.

Unfortunately, however, I found Eternal Hope‘s premise of “boy is all alone, boy meets girl, boy falls in love, boy loses girl, boy goes off to save girl” to be rather trite and just not something that gets me excited to play a game, read a book, or engage with any other kind of media, to be honest. The way the story is laid out t through voiceless, storybook-like cutscenes feels like it was intended to move players, but instead, I wanted to skip it and get straight into the action.

Eternal Hope also seems to go for a type of platforming trope (if you can call it that) that I’m not a fan of, which I’ll call SUDDEN DEATH. For example, you play through the same area twice at the beginning of the prologue, and the first time you traverse it, you have no problems at all. However, on the second time though, all of a sudden for no discernible reason, Ti’bi can no longer traverse through water and is assaulted by random deadly rolling rocks! (Ok, to be fair, there was a bad thunderstorm…? But that doesn’t explain why he can no longer swim.)

While you do get used to the fact that swimming just isn’t an option and every so often a rock will appear out of nowhere to smush you, sudden, unexpected/unpredictable death traps are not my preferred platforming experience. The controls also felt a little sluggish, particularly for jumping, which made the more time-sensitive movements such as avoiding boulders more frustrating. For what it’s worth, I played on my laptop on medium settings with an Xbox One controller.

I don’t think Eternal Hope is doing anything particularly new or revolutionary, but not every game needs to, and Eternal Hope is pulling from a lot of great media for its inspirations. If puzzle platforming is your thing, and you don’t mind a few random deaths here and there, I would keep an eye out for the full version of Eternal Hope. In the meantime, there’s absolutely no reason not to try out the prologue for free and see for yourself if this game is for you.

The post First Impressions: Eternal Hope – Prologue appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Heave Ho, a couch co-op multiplayer game for Nintendo Switch and PC/Mac developed by Le Cartel Studio, has been on my radar since it came out mid last year, especially after watching the hilarious Quick Look for it on Giant Bomb. With a 50% off sale on the Nintendo Switch eShop and some friends coming over to visit now that quarantine restrictions in Australia have been largely lifted, I figured this was the perfect time to try it out!

Heave Ho is one of those simple multiplayer games that will have both experienced video game players and those who don’t play many games in tears with laughter. It reminds me a lot of Gang Beasts, as they both have simple mechanics and controls that are easy to learn but somehow wonky enough that it’s very easy to do something unintentionally… Like letting go of the wrong hand when you’re trying to swing your friend across a chasm and accidentally letting them fall to their death!

The aim of Heave Ho is for all players (1-4) to make it safely to the goal. To do so, you must use your character’s long, bendy arms to grab and swing around the environment, or each other. The L and R buttons open and close your character’s left and right hands, and the analog stick moves the direction of your character’s hands. That’s it! 

It’s such a simple premise that it can easily be brought out at a party, explained in a couple of sentences, and have everyone in stitches within minutes. Right off the bat, players are able to customize the color, hair, and other features of their blob-like characters for easy recognition, and the assistance mode, which color-codes the right and left hands of the character can be toggled on and off individually for those who wish to use it. At first, I didn’t like feeling like I was turning on “easy mode” by using the assistance mode, but even with the colored gloves I still managed to let go of the wrong hands at the wrong time, so I think I need the assistance.

Once you’ve got your characters set up to your liking, there’s a brief tutorial and then you’re straight into the game, and you’ll quickly learn who your true friends are. Will your friends band together to get to the end, or do everything in their power to screw you over? Either way, it’s a whole lot of fun. 

Another notable thing about this game: there’s a lot of farting. I’ve never found flatulence to be particularly humorous, but if you do… Enjoy, I guess? There’s even a dedicated fart button, and you can both propel your character into the air with it, and propel other player’s characters into the air with it. There are also animals that randomly appear on the screen from time to time to poop and fart on you. Yup!

The first set of levels is pretty straightforward, but beginning in the second set there will be optional coins to collect, as well as a special golden rope that occasionally appears that will give you the opportunity to play a minigame for more coins if you pull it before it disappears. Coins can then be used in the slot machine to unlock extra costumes for your characters.

I haven’t tried the solo mode yet, but I’ve played with both 4 players and 2, and while it seems like it should be easier with 4, it’s still a ton of fun and possible to beat (at least the earlier levels) with only 2 people. As with many couch co-op games, the more people the more hectic things get, but that’s part of the fun! If you’re stuck at home with some family members during COVID-19 or looking for an easy to pick up game to whip out at parties, I can wholeheartedly recommend Heave Ho based on my time with it! Perhaps the only negative I’ve found so far is the lack of online multiplayer, but it does feel built more for the local multiplayer experience than online.

It’s always great to find a new couch co-op game to enjoy – if you have any personal favorites, let me know in the comments!

The post First Impressions: Heave Ho appeared first on Chic Pixel.

It’s time to review yet another JAST Blue boys’ love (BL) visual novel localization! After being thoroughly engrossed by Sweet Pool (there are still scenes that remain vivid in my mind a year later), I couldn’t wait to see what Nitro+chiral’s first release, Togainu no Chi ~Lost Blood~ had in store for me. I soon found out that that would be another bleak narrative with a solemn protagonist and serve of Fight Club, post-apocalyptic Tokyo, and drugs added to the mix.

Togainu no Chi ~Lost Blood~ centers around Akira, a young man who lives in post-World War Three Japan. Like most children his age, he was taken from his parents at a young age and trained to be effective in war, but when it ends before he and the others can join the fight, they find themselves with little knowledge of or interest in anything but fighting.

This results in the rise of organized street fighting, dubbed Bl@ster, which Akira participates in and excels at because he frankly doesn’t know what else to do with himself. He’s basically going through the motions with no drive to do much of anything, but when he’s framed for a murder he didn’t commit and told by mysterious figures that they’ll release him from prison in exchange for his participation in a deadly game, Akira chooses to join the game.

That game is Igura, a version of Bl@ster on steroids run by Vischio, where participants must fight each other to the death to gain the right to challenge the champion of Igura and leader of Vischio known as Il Re. Akira is sent to take part in Igura to kill Il Re and effectively disband Vischio, who also happen to be spreading a drug called Rein that gives its users superhuman strength and abilities, making them nearly unstoppable in Igura until they eventually overdose and die.

If that doesn’t sound confusing enough, I haven’t mentioned the fact that all participants in Igura are given a random set of dog tags engraved with the designs of playing cards, and the only way they can gain the right to challenge Il Re is by obtaining certain sets of tags… Frankly, I can’t really remember the details and luckily it wasn’t all that important.

After Akira reaches Toshima, formerly known as Tokyo, and finds his childhood friend Keisuke has followed him there, the two strike out into the city. In their quest to beat Igura, they encounter characters ranging from a drug lord who keeps mutilated young men as pets to a katana-wielding killing machine decked head to toe in leather, all while facing death, rape, drugs, and even more death.

Despite the two rather unsavory individuals I just described (sorry, I am not a fan of Shiki), the characters were definitely my favorite part of the game. Akira is sullen and seemingly uncaring at first, but he grows significantly over the course of the game, and with that, my interest in him also grew. He’s also great at witty one-liners!

Motomi was my favorite of the supporting characters, with his route offering both interesting story development, a satisfying romance, and a pretty hot sex scene. Speaking of romance and sex scenes, Togainu no Chi is, in my mind, much more of standard BL game than Sweet Pool, which I can’t help but compare it to as the only other Nitro+chiral game I’ve played to completion.

While Sweet Pool is a horror game with pretty horrific sexual encounters that are fitting for the narrative, Togainu no Chi is a thrilling story of men killing each other in post-apocalyptic Japan with plenty of male-male romance and sex, both consensual and non-consensual. There are both horrific routes and heart-warming routes, deeply unsettling sexual violence done to Akira, as well as the aforementioned hot – and, frankly, heart-warming – sex scene with Motomi.

Unfortunately, while it’s easier to recommend Togainu no Chi as a BL game than Sweet Pool, I found the overall story to not be very engaging, and the ending was a major letdown in every route. For all the worldbuilding, which meant it took quite a while to get to the real meat of the story, the endings feel rushed and more focused on showing Akira’s relationship with the character who’s route you’re playing than wrapping up the overall narrative in a satisfying way.

This probably could’ve been partially avoided by cutting some of the bloat from the setup – for example, the dog tag Igura mechanic I mentioned earlier is pretty unimportant to the plot overall, and the explanations could have been removed in favor of focusing more on what really mattered to the development of the characters and the story.

Togainu no Chi also looks a little rougher than Sweet Pool, which received an HD release for its 10th anniversary, meaning the visuals look fantastic on a modern computer. Again, I probably wouldn’t have thought anything of it if I hadn’t played Sweet Pool first, but I couldn’t help but wish Togainu no Chi got the same treatment. In addition, sometimes the CGs and certain characters were a little offputting, as they were clearly drawn in a different style from others, making the experience feel less cohesive. That said, I need to take a moment to praise the localization, which once again is a top-notch job from JAST Blue!

I never would’ve imagined I’d say this, but I guess it’s pretty hard to follow up something like Sweet Pool. While I could more easily recommend Togainu no Chi ~Lost Blood~ to someone interested in playing a BL game in English, the overall experience left me feeling rather lukewarm. Unfortunately, the story just didn’t grab me, and I didn’t really care about the plights of men endlessly fighting one another.

However, there were some legitimately great sex scenes, which is more than I can say of Sweet Pool! If you’re looking for a lengthy BL game and can handle the more disturbing themes (be sure to check the content warnings), Togainu no Chi ~Lost Blood~ should scratch that itch until the next Nitro+chiral title is localized.

For more spoiler-filled impressions, be sure to check out the Togainu no Chi ~Lost Blood~ episode of Pixel x Pixel! A review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.

The post Togainu no Chi ~Lost Blood~ Review appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Back when Animal Crossing: New Leaf had just come out in Japan, I made it my hobby to browse Pixiv and other sites looking for adorable QR code designs to deck out my villager and town. Now that Animal Crossing: New Horizons is out and is compatible with New Leaf QR codes, I think it’s definitely time to reshare some of my favorites!

Plus, sites like Twitter and Tumblr have made finding and sharing custom designs easier than ever, which means I already have a small stockpile of adorable creator codes for cute designs made in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

So, whether you’re looking to make your town into a sugary-sweet kawaii paradise, get that chic cafe vibe, or level up your geeky flair, here’s a roundup of all my favorite QR codes from Animal Crossing: New Leaf and creator codes from Animal Crossing: New Horizons!

Animal Crossing: New Horizon Creator Codes

While I’m not much of a pattern creator myself, I love looking at all the different designs people come up with in Animal Crossings, and New Horizons is no different! Scroll on for a whole bunch of amazing designs I’ve found so far. Be warned – there are a lot!

You can also browse #ACNHpattern and #ACNHdesign on Twitter for more codes. People are posting new designs all the time, so check back often!

Animal Crossing: New Leaf QR Codes

I really love how Animal Crossing: New Horizons supports New Leaf QR codes so everyone’s hard work in the 3DS game hasn’t gone to waste. I’ve already scanned in a few of the QR codes featured in my previous roundup posts, and they look great! Here’s an example:

Cute, eh? Monster Hunter represent! Check out my Animal Crossing: New Leaf QR Code Extravaganza posts below for everything from cute dresses to butt patterns (yup).

Animal Crossing: New Leaf QR Code Extravaganza Part 1
Animal Crossing: New Leaf QR Code Extravaganza Part 2
Animal Crossing: New Leaf QR Code Extravaganza Part 3
Animal Crossing: New Leaf QR Code Extravaganza Part 4

**Please note that some of the Japanese sites linked to in the above QR code posts are no longer online. You may be able to access the QR codes by using Wayback Machine, but I don’t have them. Sorry!

All these creator codes and QR codes should keep you busy for a while! If you use any of them, share your outfits in the comments (and don’t forget to thank the creators if you can!).

The post Animal Crossing Creator Code and QR Code Roundup appeared first on Chic Pixel.

The Nintendo Switch is region free, which means it’s easier than ever to play Japanese games to help with your language study! But while importing the games may be easy, deciding what titles are best-suited to aid your language learning can be hard. To help you out, I’ve compiled a list of the best Japan-only Nintendo Switch game releases for Japanese learners!

Just a quick note before we get started: for the purpose of this post, I’ve decided to exclude any games with multi-language options built into the game, or games that were released outside of Japan. However, playing a game you’re already familiar with in Japanese, or switching between languages, can also be greats way to study.

But, if you’re like me, you’ll want to import games that you wouldn’t be able to play at all if you weren’t able to speak Japanese. Think of it as one of the perks of all your hard work, or motivate yourself to level up your Japanese by playing an import title you’ve always wanted to try!

Uta no Prince-sama Repeat LOVE – This otome game is the latest port of the first game in the super-popular Uta no Prince-sama series. You play as Haruka Nanami, dreams of composing a song for her favorite idol. After joining a high school for idols and music producers, she becomes the producer for the all-male idol group STARISH, each member a classmate at her school.

The school setting and idol theme mean the vocabulary is relatively simple, and the series’ popularity means there is an anime that follows the same general storyline available with English subtitles that you can watch to get an idea for the plot before jumping in, which is why I’ve also included on my best otome games for learning Japanese list. There is also an Uta no Prince-sama mobile game available in English called Uta no Prince-sama Shining Live, but note that the story is not a direct adaptation of the first game in the series.

Neko Tomo – A spiritual sequel to Kuma Tomo, also known as Teddy Together in Europe, Neko Tomo gives you the task of caring for two stray cats and teaching them words… because somehow, they can talk. The game is generally aimed at a younger audience and uses next to no kanji, making it a great first game to try playing in Japanese. Plus, since you’re also teaching the cats words, it’s a great way to reinforce your own learning. You can also dress up your cats and play a cooking minigame, among other cute things.

PriPara All Idol Perfect Stage – This PriPara game is based on the existing anime, meaning much like Uta no Prince-sama, you can watch the anime with subtitles to get context if you find yourself struggling with the game. Also like Uta no Prince-sama, PriPara All Idol Perfect Stage is themed around idols, but in this case they’re super cute idol girls who you can dress up in tons of different clothes and then watch perform songs as you play through the rhythm game. The rhythm mode and the story mode are separate from each other, so you can always slowly make your way through the story and play the songs in the rhythm mode when you need a break. Due to the target audience being younger children, kanji all have furigana. Check out my review for more info!

Sumikko Gurashi: Sumikko Park e Youkoso! – If you love games like Mario Party, Sumikko Gurashi: Sumikko Park e Youkoso! will be right up your alley. Like many of the games on this list, it is a super cute game that is accessible to younger players, meaning kanji have furigana, so you don’t need to be constantly looking up kanji in your dictionary.

The different minigames are relatively straightforward, so even if you have a difficult time understanding the directions, it’s pretty easy to figure out from trial and error and the example videos provided. But, once you know what to do, it’s great to try reading through the directions and see if you can understand them better with context! I talk more about the mechanics of the game in my review if you’re interested in learning more.

Moujuutsukai to Oujisama – This is one of my personal favorite otome games, and while it’s slightly more difficult than some of the other games on this list, it still has relatively easy language despite the fantasy theme. The story follows a young woman who is a beastmaster, or moujuutsukai, and takes home four caged animals she finds at a local market. It turns out those animals are actually handsome men who’re under a curse, and to make matters worse, they can’t remember who they are! Once you’ve tried your hand at some of the easier Nintendo Switch games, or are already at an intermediate Japanese level, this one is a lot of fun to play. Plus, there’s a petting minigame!

Kaminazo: Mirai kara no Omoide – Kaminazo is a download-only title, meaning you’ll need to purchase an eShop card online if you don’t have a Japanese credit card to purchase it (I recommend JapanCodeSupply), but its unique premise and gorgeous visuals are well worth the effort. Kaminazo is a puzzle game that incorporates paper that players print out at home and fold, cut, and take notes on to solve the in-game puzzles. The game doesn’t have furigana, but kanji are kept to a minimum, and the addition of physical paper will keep you thinking outside of the box!

Motto! New Puzz Osomatsu-san ~Shinpin Sotsugyou Keikaku~ – This match-three puzzle game based on the hit Osomatsu-san anime is also a popular mobile game. The Switch port features an original story and the game’s simple yet fun matching mechanics, along with 500 new voice lines from the Osomatsu-san characters that aren’t heard in the mobile version. Kanji do not have furigana, and considering humor can be one of the most difficult things to understand in a foreign language, the story mode may make this one of the more difficult games on this list from a language perspective. However, the puzzle mechanics themselves are fairly straightforward, so why not take on the challenge and try it out?

Gotouchi Tetsudou for Nintendo Switch – Imagine Fortune Street with Japanese regional mascot characters instead of Dragon Quest and Nintendo characters, and you’ve got Gotouchi Tetsudou. This board game-style video game was originally released on Wii U and 3DS, and was ported to the Switch in 2018. It’s a great way to learn Japanese geography and about what different prefectures are famous for, so you can impress all your Japanese-speaking friends. Kanji have furigana in dialogue windows, but not on the main game screen (pictured above), encouraging you to memorize the kanji for a few keywords. See how many prefecture names you can remember after a few rounds!

This post will be updated as new games are released in Japan. Happy gaming!

The post The Best Nintendo Switch Games for Japanese Learners appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Not all conductors who work who go on tour with famous singers such as Weird Al Yankovitch see video game music as something worthy of performing in concert halls, but Eric Roth certainly does. After working with his father, Arnie Roth, on the Distant Worlds: Music from FINAL FANTASY, Eric started A New World: Intimate Music from FINAL FANTASY, a chamber ensemble concert production, in 2014, and currently works as the producer and conductor.

While Distant Worlds focuses on grand, epic renditions of classic Final Fantasy music for a symphonic orchestra, as the title suggests, A New World takes on a much more intimate approach, offering its own unique take on the Final Fantasy music we know and love.

As a big fan of Final Fantasy music since Final Fantasy VII wowed me in the late 90s, I was thrilled to have the chance to speak with Eric about how A New World came to be, the process of translating Final Fantasy music into a chamber concert format, Eric’s personal favorite song from the program, and more!

We began by discussing how A New World: Intimate Music from FINAL FANTASY came to exist as a separate FINAL FANTASY concert from Distant Worlds. Eric began as an arranger for Distant Worlds, a concert series conducted by his father Arnie Roth. Speaking with me on Skype, he notes that “When we would be considering new repertoire to add to Distant Worlds, it became clear to us – I guess I’m using the royal us, to me – that there was a lot of Final Fantasy music that would be better suited to a chamber music setting than to a big orchestra setting.”

New World began with Eric, Arnie, Square Enix, and Nobuo Uematsu “bouncing ideas off one another,” and naturally progressed to Eric doing the shows.

While I had the opportunity to attend Distant Worlds in Tokyo in 2017, I have to admit that I don’t know enough about music to really understand the difference between symphonies and chamber ensembles. To this end, I asked Eric if he could explain how the experience between the two differs.

“For Distant Worlds, we’re talking about a huge spectacle, with sometimes over 100 people on stage between orchestra and choir… For the intimate experience of A New World, we have an 11 piece chamber ensemble… Everything is totally exposed, and it’s an experience where the performance is completely transparent. So, in a musical sense, they’re very different experiences, and that’s why we have ‘intimate’ in the title.”

So, does that mean that the programs for Distant Worlds and A New World are completely different? According to Eric, “There is a little bit over overlap between Distant Worlds and A New World, but it’s the exception, not the rule.”

The process of adapting video game music to a chamber performance is an interesting and difficult one. Eric says there is a lot of correspondence between him, Square Enix, Uematsu-san, and other composers when he’s adapting their music.

Once they’ve narrowed down the new additions to the repertoire, “At that point the big challenge for me as an orchestrator and an arranger is to maintain the identity of the original soundtrack version in the new arrangements, but I need to make sure it’s fresh and has a real performance experience of it in that there’s structure and form.” Since video game music is often made to be looped, he wants to make arrangements that are more thoughtful than just looping the song twice for a live performance.

When considering the process of translating video game music to something playable at a concert, I’ve always wondered if there are any differences between adapting 8bit music and more modern music that utilizes full symphonies already. Eric notes that this is a great quest, albeit a complex one.

“When you’re dealing with the 8bit sound, I don’t find that as having more freedom. I find it the challenge of trying to use acoustic instruments to achieve certain textures… I think that that can be a real orchestrational challenge to achieve the identity of the original.”

Rather than looking at it in terms of limited technology versus advanced technology Eric views them as “different sound worlds that live at different ages of digital technology.” Rather than being a matter of less or more freedom in terms of adaptation, Eric sees it as more of a spectrum, with 8bit music featuring a certain palette of sound that is now more varied.

I asked Eric if he has any piece he’s particularly proud of. He excitedly proclaimed that he has a number he’s proud of, but if he had to choose one, his orchestration of “Zanarkand” is one he’s most proud of for achieving those goals. The song is a beloved fan favorite, making it especially difficult to adapt, but he feels he successfully achieved maintaining the identity of the original and also “making it live in a meaningful way for the chamber ensemble.”

Eric’s comment about fan favorites made me wonder, does he feel pressure to fulfill fans’ expectations when adapting Final Fantasy music? He tells me of course, and that he carefully considers community and what their experiences of the game and music are, along with what they might want out of a live music experience.

“I think that (video game music) is some of the most vital music that is getting produced in the world today, and people sleep on it at their peril.”

– Eric Roth, arranger and conductor of A New World: Intimate Music from FINAL FANTASY

While Eric may have not grown up playing video games himself, as an adult, he has fallen in love with the creativity being expressed in video game music. He explained to me that he feels excited that there is a whole untapped world that is not historically a conventional source of great music, and he feels great about being able to work with it.

Continuing, he says, “I feel like I get to live out an ideal in my career when I get to work with video game music, and Final Fantasy music in particular. Great ideas, great art, great music can come from any origin, and there is no special knowledge or special test you have to pass to be able to make great stuff.” I love this sentiment!

Finally, I had to see if Eric could share any current or upcoming video game concerts he’s involved with. He talked about the premiere of his collaborative new production Undertale Live in Chicago, which sold out online in a whopping 2.5 hours! Eric is also involved with the Nier concerts in North America and the UK, as well as the Dragonball Symphonic Adventure in March (that’s anime, but we’ll count it!).

And as for Australia? Eric had his own question for me: What do people in Australia think of Undertale? Of course, I told him that Australians love Undertale just as much as the rest of the world! Could Undertale Live be on Australia’s concert horizon? Let’s sure hope so! Eric says to stay tuned for more info about upcoming concerts this summer (winter for us Southern Hemisphere folks).

Many thanks to Eric Roth for taking the time to talk with me – and while he was driving, no less! It was lovely to speak with someone involved with Final Fantasy concerts that is clearly very passionate about it.

New World: Intimate Music from FINAL FANTASY tours Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane Australia in February, and along with various locations in the US in the first half of 2020. Tickets can be purchased from the official website.

The post Interview with Eric Roth, Conductor of New World: Intimate Music from FINAL FANTASY appeared first on Chic Pixel.

As we inch closer and closer to January 1st, 2020, everyone is not only reflecting on the last year, but the whole decade. Instead of rounding up my favorite games, anime, or other media, I thought now would be a great time to look at how my tastes and interests here at Chic Pixel have changed. After all, a lot can happen in 10 years!

Changing Tastes in Games

From 2000-2010, my gaming tastes were very much focused on JRPGs. After playing Final Fantasy VII in the late 90s, I became enamored with the Final Fantasy series and sought out any other JRPGs that looked half as interesting – Grandia 2, Legend of Legaia, and Legend of Dragoon were some favorites of the time.

After I graduated from college in 2010, however, I found myself less and less interested in sitting down with long, tedious RPGs (not saying all RPGs are tedious, of course, but that’s how I was feeling at the time), and I went hard in on my love for otome games. Now, I enjoy an RPG from time to time (mostly of the Japanese variety), but I play many more visual novels and, surprisingly, action games.

And how can I talk about action games without mentioning Monster Hunter?! This past decade also turned me into a massive Monster Hunter fan, and it has usurped Final Fantasy as my favorite game series. Who would’ve thought?!

A New Love for Figures

I always used to joke about how I just couldn’t get into figurines like other anime/game fans, but over the course of the last decade, they finally hooked me. All it took was the absolutely adorable Nendoroid line by Good Smile Company, which dates back to before 2010, but really expanded in terms of the range of characters they make and the quality of the figures over the past five years or so.

There were a couple years there – 2016-2017, perhaps – where I amassed quite a collection before slowing down on my figure purchases significantly. But even though I don’t buy them as frequently as I did before, I can’t resist when my favorite character gets a Nendoroid version or a gorgeous scale figure!

Starting Up Journaling

A few years ago, I got really interested in the Hobonichi Techo planner after reading a review on Tiny Cartridge. For a year or two, I just followed the Hobonichi tag on Tumblr and admired all of the cool things other people were doing with theirs, until I finally decided that I would try out freeform journaling for myself using a simple Rilakkuma notebook to see if I liked it. After keeping it up for a good six months, I took the plunge and got a Hobonichi Techo!

I really love journaling as a way to decompress, and the Hobonichi has allowed me to get rid of my preconceptions of what a journal/planner should look like and just use it however I wanted. Sometimes I draw, other times I write something of a diary entry, and others I just glue in cute images and call it a day.

I’ve even got my 2020 Hobonichi Techo ready to go – this year I’m trying their new day free version, so I don’t feel bad if I don’t write something down on every single dated page (aside from the monthly calendars, there are no dates on any of the pages in the day free version). Maybe I’ll get back to posting journal flip through videos!

Leveling Up the Site

Speaking of videos, so many aspects of Chic Pixel have changed since I started the site nearly a decade ago, from how I publish posts to the quality of the photos and even the content. Chic Pixel started as a blog on Blogger where I wrote about pretty much whatever I felt like, but eventually, I migrated to WordPress and the site layout you see now.

My photography and image editing skills have improved a lot, and now I even make fancy header images like the one at the beginning of this post! I also started recording video game footage and Japanese candy videos for YouTube, am on the third rendition of the site’s tie-in podcast. I also started a Patreon – something I never would have imagined possible 10 years ago! I wonder what Chic Pixel will look like in 2030? Will we still have websites as we know them today?

Of course, a lot has happened in my personal life in this past decade, as well. I graduated from college, moved to Australia, got married, started and finished a PhD, became a published translator, and finally got a full-time job. I’m exhausted just thinking about it!

While I haven’t had as much time for Chic Pixel the past six months due to the aforementioned full-time job, I’m really looking forward to getting back to writing more regularly. In the meantime, here’s to a restful rest of 2019 and making 2020 the best year yet!

The post Chic Pixel’s Decade in Review appeared first on Chic Pixel.

We’re finishing the 2019 Community Game-Along schedule with a bang with our final theme of the year: puzzle games! I love how puzzle games can be really great for stress and anxiety, and I know the end of the year can be a source of both of those things for many people, so it’s a great time to decompress with some wholesome puzzles!

From Professor Layton to Puzzle Quest, December’s puzzle game theme includes all manner of puzzlers, so pick up a game and share your impressions with #PuzzleGameMonth!

Before I share some game recommendations for this month, I wanted to let you all know about the future of the Community Game-Alongs. I’ve been doing monthly Community Game-Along themes since 2014, which makes this my 5th year organizing this fun event! While I really enjoy it, with my new full-time job I decided it was time to ask for help.

That’s where Nitro and Capsulejay come in! They’ve both been dedicated participants of the Community Game-Along for a long time, so I couldn’t have asked for better hands to carry on the Game-Along torch. Nitro will be leading the event going forward, with Capsulejay assisting with organization and me mostly just cheering them on (and contributing graphics occasionally).

With the changeover comes a brand-new Community Game-Along website, where Nitro has already announced the themes for 2020! Head on over and take a look at his awesome handiwork, and start planning your 2020 gaming schedule!

Now that that’s out of the way, here are some game suggestions from me to close out the 2019 Game-Along:

Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaire’s Conspiracy (Switch, 3DS, Android/iOS) – The latest game in the Professor Layton series, Layton’s Mystery Journey features the professor’s daughter, who wants to follow in her father’s footsteps as well as find him, because he’s nowhere to be found! The Switch port just came out last month and features a few additions, but you can also try it out for free on Android/iOS or pick up the 3DS version.

Gorogoa (PC, Android/iOS, Switch, PS4, Xbox One) – For a gorgeous puzzle experience that is simple to learn but fascinatingly complex, look no further than Gorogoa. It’s not an extremely long experience, so if you’re not in the mood for a Professor Layton-length endeavor, this may scratch the puzzle itch without overstaying its welcome. Plus, it’s available for nearly everything!

Tetris 99 (Switch) – If you have a Nintendo Online subscription, you can play Tetris 99 for free right now! Just as the name suggests, this Tetris game has you pitted against 98 other players. Become number 1 by being the last player standing! So basically Tetris battle royale. If you enjoy Tetris, give it a shot and see how you stack up!

Baba Is You (PC/Linux/Mac, Switch) – This quirky puzzle game took the gaming community by storm earlier this year with its simple premise and imaginative gameplay. In Baba Is You, you change the actual rules of the puzzle you are playing in order to complete it by moving blocks around the screen. If you enjoy puzzles with multiple, sometimes surprising, ways to find the solution, look no further than this one.

I’m all set to participate this month with my copy of Layton’s Mystery Journey, which I’m currently quite enjoying! (When I’m not banging my head against a particularly frustrating puzzle and refusing to give in and spend my hint coins) What puzzle game will you play this month? Leave a comment or share your picks on social media with #PuzzleGameMonth!

The post December 2019 Community Game-Along: Puzzle Games appeared first on Chic Pixel.

It’s another new month, and another new Community Game-Along theme! This month, we’re celebrating all kinds of visual novels. Join in the event by playing a visual novel and sharing your impressions using #VNNovember on social media!

If you’re new to the Community Game-Along, know that all kinds of submissions are most welcome, from podcasts, photographs of your game collection, or gameplay videos. As long as it features games that fit the theme of the month, any way you’d like to share your impressions is most welcome!

VNNovember is a theme I’ve done for the Community Game-Along a few times now, so you can refer to some of my older posts for game recommendations if you’re stumped. Some classics that you can’t go wrong with are The House of Fata Morgana, Higurashi: When They Cry, and Steins;Gate. Read on for some recent releases to add to your visual novel to-play list!

AI: The Somnium Files (PC, PS4, Switch) – AI is the latest game written and directed by Kotaro Uchikoshi, who is known for the Zero Escape series, which combines a mysterious visual novel with puzzle-solving elements. AI is a sci-fi murder mystery where you play as detective Kaname Date attempting to thwart an elusive serial killer.

I Love You, Colonel Sanders! A Finger Lickin’ Good Dating Simulator (PC) – If you want a completely free visual novel experience that is also an advertisement for deep-fried, breaded chicken, look no further! I don’t know what else to say about this game (advertisement) aside from the fact that it takes less than an hour to play. It can’t hurt to check it out, right?

What will you be playing this month? I’m sorely overdue to play through The House in Fata Morgana, so I plan to pick away at it this month. Remember, if you pick a visual novel that’s a romance game, you can always come back to it in February for next year’s dating sim Community Game-Along theme. It’s a win-win!

The post November 2019 Community Game-Along: Visual Novels appeared first on Chic Pixel.

It’s that spooky time of year once again! If you’re looking to get in the Halloween spirit, October’s Community Game-Along theme will do the trick. This month, we’re celebrating all things that go bump in the night – namely, horror games!

Even if horror games are not your thing, you can participate in this month’s Community Game-Along by playing a game with Halloween-y themes, such as Luigi’s Mansion! Share your thoughts on your chosen game by using #HorrorGameOct on social media so everyone can see how your game stacks up. You can write a review, share a photo of your game collection, or even record a podcast, too! As long as your contribution relates to October’s horror game theme, practically anything goes.

Here are some game ideas to get you started:

Resident Evil 2 (PS4, Steam) – The remake of Resident Evil 2, released earlier this year, has gotten rave reviews. Whether you’ve played the original or this is your first time playing a Resident Evil game, you can’t go wrong with playing Resident Evil 2 this month!

Spirit Hunter: NG (Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS Vita, Steam) – If visual novel-style games are more your style, Spirit Hunter: NG is coming out for a variety of systems (including the seemingly-dead PS Vita!) on October 20th. With ghosts and ghouls inspired by classic Japanese stories and haunting visuals, NG is sure to provide the spooks you crave. If you can’t wait for NG to come out, its spiritual predecessor, Death Mark, is available now.

Deadly Premonition: Origins (Nintendo Switch) – Last month’s Nintendo Direct came with not only the shock announcement that Deadly Premonition 2 is in development but also the news that you could play the original Deadly Premonition on the Nintendo Switch right away! This cult classic may not have the best graphics or gameplay, but it makes up for them with charm for days. If you’d prefer to play Deadly Premonition on a different system, the director’s cut is also available on Steam.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch) – After raising over $5.5 million dollars on Kickstarter to fund the game’s development in 2015, Bloodstained was finally released this June, and apparently it was well worth the wait! Fans of classic Castlevania games or those looking for something festive for Halloween but not necessarily scary should check this one out. If games with retro graphics are more your speed, there’s also the 8-bit companion game Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon.

For even more game suggestions, check out last year’s horror game Community Game-Along post. What will you be playing to get in the Halloween spirit? Share your picks in the comments!

The post October 2019 Community Game-Along: Horror Games appeared first on Chic Pixel.

In some places, September means the start of the new school year, but here at Chic Pixel, it means it’s time for another Community Game-Along! This month, we’re doing another suggestion from the Chic Pixel Pals Discord: sports games!

Sports games are not usually a genre I personally gravitate towards, but that’s why the Community Game-Along themes are so great! It’s the perfect time to try a game you wouldn’t normally play, or check something off your backlog. Plus, there’s such a huge range of sports games, you’re bound to find something you enjoy!

To participate, play a sports game of any kind during the month of September and share your thoughts using #SportSeptember! Blog posts, podcasts, let’s plays, and all other kinds of submissions are welcome as long as they fit the monthly gaming theme, so get creative!

As always, I have a few suggestions for you if you’re stumped with what to play this month. If you have any other recommendations, leave them in the comments!

Everybody’s Golf (PS4) – Everybody’s Golf is a classic Japanese golfing game series formerly known as Hot Shots Golf in the west. With arcade-style gameplay that only uses three buttons, it’s easy to pick up and enjoy even if you’re not a big golfer. If you have VR, there’s even Everybody’s Golf VR!

OlliOlli (PS4, Xbox One, 3DS, Switch, PC, Vita, Android) – OlliOlli is a side-scrolling skateboarding game that has earned its place alongside some of the best skateboarding games. It’s also available for nearly every system and can be picked up quite cheaply, so it’s a great option if you don’t already have a sports game in your collection to play. If you like to get the latest and greatest, there’s also OlliOlli 2: Welcome to Olliworld!

Fire Pro Wrestling World (PS4, PC) – Sports games also include all the wrestling games out there! One recent release that has received very positive reviews is Fire Pro Wrestling World, the latest entry in the Japanese wrestling game series. Customize everything from your fighter to the ring itself in this retro-style grappling game!

Free NES Games on Switch – If you have a Nintendo Online Account, you already have access to a handful of NES sports games! Current games on the service include Tennis, NES Open Tournament Golf, Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream, Ice Hockey, Super Dodge Ball, Baseball, Pro Wrestling, Soccer, and Excitebike. That should keep you plenty busy this month!

What are you playing this month? Share your picks in the comments!

The post September 2019 Community Game-Along: Sports Games appeared first on Chic Pixel.

If you’ve been listening to the Pixel x Pixel podcast (and if you’re not, you should!), you’ll know that I’ve frequently lamented the fact that I haven’t been to a geek convention in a long time. Well, back in May, I fixed that!

I had the opportunity to go to the Madman Anime Festival, or Madfest, in Brisbane as a media attendee, and I spent both the Saturday and Sunday (May 25-26) seeing everything the convention had to offer. This was my first time attending any Madfest convention, and though it was smaller than I expected (just one hall in the Brisbane Convention Centre), it was packed full of fun!

In addition to the usual kinds of shops you expect to find at an anime convention, there was also a big booth for The Promised Neverland, which was streaming at the time on Madman’s AnimeLab service in Australia. Of course, I had to check it out and take a picture with my favorite boys!

There was also a Tokyo Ghoul artwork display. Though I don’t really know anything about Tokyo Ghoul, I absolutely loved looking at the gorgeous works!

As with any convention, the main highlight for me was all the amazing cosplay. Here are a few of my favorites spotted over the weekend!

There was also the Madman National Cosplay Competiton Brisbane Prelim on Sunday, which my good friend Dr. Emerald L King was a judge for! I had a lot of fun tagging along with her throughout the weekend and meeting all of her cosplay friends. Though I don’t really cosplay myself (maybe someday?!), I really admire the cosplay community!

Here are all the entrants in the Madman National Cosplay Competition Brisbane Prelim. It was so neat to hear about the work that went into their costumes and watch their skits! The Apollo Justice cosplayers were my personal favorites (love the hair!).

There were also quite a few Love Live cosplay dance groups at Madfest, and I had the chance to see A-muse and Aquaria Super do a collaborative live show and say goodbye to some of their retiring members.

If you’re like me and don’t know a whole lot about this particular area of Japan-related geek culture, Love Live cosplay dance groups dress up as the characters from the popular idol series and perform the official dances on stage, sometimes lip-syncing and sometimes singing themselves. I’m sure it takes a lot of time and effort, as the performances are really impressive!

While there weren’t really any special guests or screenings that I absolutely had to see at this year’s Madfest in Brisbane, it was a very enjoyable event despite the small size. While other nationwide conventions such as Supanova and OzComic Con are much larger, they cater toward a much more general geek audience, and I much preferred the focused aspect of Madfest. I can’t wait to see who Madfest brings to Sydney and Brisbane next year, and hope the convention is able to continue to grow!

The post Madfest Brisbane 2019 Recap appeared first on Chic Pixel.

To celebrate Evo 2019, this month’s Community Game-Along is all about fighting games! Fighting games can have a steep learning curve, but they’re a whole lot of fun!

As with every monthly Community Game-Along, participation is easy. Just pick a game that fits the theme and play it sometime during the month! Share your impressions by tweeting, writing a review, doing a live stream, singing a song, or whatever else tickles your fancy! Just be sure to use #FightingGameMonth so others can see it!

Every month, I like to share some game ideas for those who might be stumped with what to play. While the Community Game-Along is always a great time to tick off a game in your backlog, it’s also an opportunity to branch out of your usual gaming habits and try something new! Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Soul Calibur VI (PS4, Xbox One, PC) – The latest entry in the Soul Calibur series features classic Soul Calibur characters along with special guest Geralt from Witcher 3. If you’re willing to spring for a DLC character, you can even play as Nier: Automata‘s 2B! This game also sports a very robust character creator to make your very customized own fighters.

BlazBlue: Central Fiction (PS4, Switch) – I can’t pass up a chance to mention one of my personal favorite fighting game series, BlazBlue! The story at this point is a convoluted mess, so if not understanding what’s happening in the story mode is a turn-off, you may want to stay away, but you won’t find a more stylish fighting game series than BlazBlue (okay, well maybe Guilty Gear…). You can even play in a special mode that makes it much easier to do flashy combos, which is perfect for beginners!

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch) – It’s Super Smash Bros.! What more needs to be said? This one is definitely the most accessible fighting game on this list, and it’s a real crowd-pleaser at parties!

Samurai Showdown (PS4, Xbox One) – This reboot of the classic series featuring fighters in a feudal Japan setting has been getting rave reviews since it came out in June. If you’re interested in a weapons-based, slower style of fighting game, it might be up your alley!

Kill la Kill IF (PS4, PC, Switch) – Kill la Kill IF is an arena-based fighting game featuring characters from the hit anime by Studio TRIGGER. The story features an alternative perspective from the anime, following Ryuko’s rival Satsuki, so fans of the anime should definitely check this one out!

Thanks to EVO, there are also a lot of fighting games on sale at the moment. Check out this list for some great deals if you’re looking for a fighting game to play this month!

Since I’m a big BlazBlue fan, I’m hoping to finally dig into BlazBlue: Central Fiction on the Switch. What will you be playing this month? Let me know in the comments!

The post August 2019 Community Game-Along: Fighting Games appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Have you never played Final Fantasy VII, one of the most famous JRPGs of all time? Or has the remake hype got you itching to replay this classic game? To celebrate JRPGJuly, I’m giving away a Final Fantasy VII Steam key, so whatever your reason for wanting to play, you can enter to win a copy via the widget at the bottom of this post!

This giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close on July 21st at 9 am EST so you have time to enjoy your prize before the end of the month. Best of luck to you all!

Final Fantasy VII Giveaway

The post Final Fantasy VII JRPGJuly Giveaway appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village recently received an HD port for iOS/Android, making the game that started the world-famous series more accessible than ever. Unfortunately, it seems to have gone under many people’s radars, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to review it for the site. After all, I always welcome any excuse to return to the quirky world of the Layton series!

Professor Layton is probably one of the most famous professors of the video game world, so this series probably needs no introduction. If you aren’t familiar with it, however, Professor Layton and the Curious Village is the first game in Level-5’s famous puzzle game series, released for the Nintendo DS in Japan in 2007. That it makes it over a decade old!

Professor Layton and the Curious Village came out for iOS and Android in English in September 2018 and features crisp HD visuals that look great on a phone screen. You can also play on a larger device like an iPad, but I played it on my iPhone 7. The lack of the DS’s stylus may annoy some, especially for the puzzles that require a little more precision, but I didn’t really have any difficulties.

Aside from the graphical upgrade, the game is virtually the same, with some minor bells and whistles such as some new animated cutscenes added in. I actually went into this playthrough thinking I’d played Professor Layton and the Curious Village before, but I have no memory of any of the puzzles, so I might’ve been confused with another Layton game!

Any Layton game would make a great mobile game, but I did find myself miss the sleep mode of a DS or 3DS, where you can close the system and open it and resume exactly where you left off. Like any apps, Professor Layton and the Curious Village on iOS will boot you out to the main menu of the game after the app has not been in use for a certain amount of time.

While there is an auto-save function, I still found myself having to replay small sections of the game to get back to my place relatively frequently. This could be more due to my style of play than anything, but I often don’t use my phone for very long periods of time, so I prefer to play one or two puzzles here and there when I have a minute or two of downtime, rather than sit down with my phone for longer play sessions.

That said, if you haven’t had the chance to play this game, or any Layton title, I highly recommend grabbing Professor Layton and the Curious Village for $9.99 on iOS/Android. It’s an easy way to play one of the best puzzle games out there, and even if you get easily frustrated by puzzles like me, the game is oozing with so much charm that you’ll probably want to push through them to see the story unfold (just make ample use of hint coins!). If you find yourself craving more once you’re done, Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box is now available on iOS/Android as well!

The post Professor Layton and the Curious Village HD for Mobile Review appeared first on Chic Pixel.

The 6th annual JRPG Community Game-Along, aka JRPGJuly, is upon us! Join in the fun by playing any JRPG during the month of July. It’s a great time to revisit an old favorite, knock a game off your backlog, or try something completely new!

Be sure to share your thoughts on your game (or games!) of choice on social media using #JRPGJuly. All kinds of submissions, from podcasts to let’s plays and even game collection photographs are totally welcome and encouraged! I am always RT’ing highlights to my Twitter feed, and will be sharing a roundup here on the site next month. But whether you choose to share your participation or not, grab a JRPG and join in the fun!

If you started playing Judgement for the Yakuza Studio Community Game-Along, you can totally continue playing it for JRPGJuly. Or, if you’d like some other suggestions, check out one of these games:

Collection of Mana (Switch) – This collection was a surprise announcement and release last month on the Nintendo Switch, marking the first time the third game in the Mana series, Trails of Mana, is officially available in English. If you’re looking for some solid classic action JRPGs, look no further than this collection – you get three stellar games in the bundle!

Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers (PC/Mac, PS4) – Of course, an MMORPG made in Japan totally counts for JPRGJuly! Shadowbringers is the latest expansion of the widely popular Final Fantasy XIV, so if you’re itching to go back and make a cute Viera, rest assured knowing you’ll be participating in JRPGJuly.

Dragon Quest Builders 2 (Switch, PS4) – The sequel to “Dragon Quest meets Minecraft” is coming out on the 12th, making it a great option for JRPGJuly! If you like crafting just as much as you like RPG gameplay, then Dragon Quest Builders is definitely worth a try. This game adds the option to select a female player character, online multiplayer for up to four players, and bigger islands to build on.

Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth (3DS) – Persona Q2 is a dungeon crawling game that combines the cast of Persona 3, 4, and 5. It is likely to be one of the last physical 3DS games, so if you like the Persona series and want to see the 3DS off with a bang, grab Persona Q2 and give it a spin for JRPGJuly! For Japanese VA fans like me, you’ll be pleased to know the English version has Japanese voice acting.

Last year’s JRPGJuly post has some great game ideas, as well. Of course, Fire Emblem: Three Houses also comes out on the 26th – Whatever happened to July being a slow month!?

What will you be playing this month? What JRPGs do you recommend others play? Leave your picks in the comments!

The post JRPGJuly 2019 Community Game-Along appeared first on Chic Pixel.

We’re celebrating Yakuza Studio’s stellar game library all throughout the month of June, just in time for the English release of Judgement! If you’re new to the Community Game-Along events, each month I pick a different gaming theme here at Chic Pixel. To participate this month, simply play a game that fits the theme and share your experiences using #YakuzaStudioMonth! Submissions in the form of blog posts, live streams, podcasts, and more are always welcome!

I want to give an extra special thanks to Neal Akuma this month for being more organized than I was and promoting the event on ResetEra with an awesome post! If you use ResetEra, feel free to join in the discussion on his post. He also kindly gave me permission to use the awesome images he whipped up for the post to give you an idea of all the awesome games you can play this month!

Since Neal Akuma did such a good job providing a ton of information on what kind of games you can play for #YakuzaStudioMonth in the ResetEra post, I’m going to encourage everyone to head over there for more game ideas instead of doing my usual big list of suggestions.

But, if you’re looking for some quick ideas: Yakuza Kiwami (PS4, PC)a remake of the first Yakuza game, is a great place to start if you want to jump into Yakuza Studio’s namesake series (as is Yakuza 0, which is the first game in the series chronologically). Binary Domain (PS3, Xbox 360, PC) is an awesome pick for an underrated but highly-regarded third-person shooter, and Super Monkey Ball: Sakura Edition (iOS, Android) is a great free option, as Yakuza Studio head Toshihiro Nagoshi has a long history directing/producing games in the series.

What Yakuza Studio game will you be playing this month? Share your pick in the comments!

The post June 2019 Community Game Along: Yakuza Studio appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Early in 2018, a permanent Pokémon Café opened in Tokyo, and I was lucky enough to be able to visit it when I was in Japan! It’s been just about a year since I went, but I’m finally getting around to sharing my impressions… with lots of photos, of course!

The Pokémon Café is located next to the Pokémon Center Tokyo DX, which is in the Nihombashi Takashimaya building near Tokyo Station. If you want to visit the cafe, you’ll need to book online in advance. When I went to make the booking for me and my friend @clairparfait, they were already nearly out of seats!

I think it’s easier to get a seat if you’re going alone, but it’s important to plan in advance. Plus, there’s merch you can only get if you order it at the time you make your reservation! Nintendo Soup has a good guide on making reservations online if you need any help.

When you first enter the Pokémon Center Tokyo DX, you’ll be greeted by a large Snorlax statue with decorations that change depending on the season. Turn left, and you’ll be at the cafe! Be sure to save some time to check out the Pokémon Center, too!

This is what the inside of the cafe looks like! There are two seating areas separated by a glass case filled with lots of rare Pokémon plushies. Single reservations are seated at the big table in the middle. You order everything using the iPad, and it’s really easy to navigate the cafe’s menu even if you don’t know Japanese (there may have even been English on the menu, but I’ve forgotten).

There are so many little details in the cafe! If you look at the back of the iPads, they even have the cafe’s logo!

After ordering food and drink, I spent some time wandering around the cafe taking photos. There was so much to see! I love this little Pikachu drawing by Ken Sugimori!

My friend Julie ordered this cute Eevee burger and was kind enough to let me take a photo!

I ordered the pancakes! I love how they even have a Pikachu tail! There were so many cute things on the menu that I couldn’t decide what to get. The pancakes were nice, but nothing super amazing. Still, they definitely win extra points for their adorable design!

This grape Gengar smoothie I ordered was really fun! I love how the ice cube was a light – it gave the drink a really neat effect. And it was super tasty!

I don’t normally order so much at a themed cafe, but as I mentioned, everything was just so cute! So I ordered a second drink, which was this Pikachu latte, and it came with a mug you can take home with you.

Unfortunately, I really didn’t like the flavor of the latte! I know some people don’t like Japanese coffee, but I usually do, so I was surprised I didn’t like this one. Oh well!

For every drink you order, you get one random coaster. I got Pikachu and Charmander! I really like that they’re plastic, rather than the cardboard coasters you often get at themed cafes. I’m still using them back home in Brisbane!

At the end, Pikachu made an appearance! They put on a little show, and it was super cute! I didn’t know they always do this for cafe attendees, so it was a really pleasant surprise and put a big smile on my face.

If you’re ever in Tokyo, I highly recommend checking out the Pokémon Café! I didn’t love all of the food, but the presentation was top-notch, and the cafe was full of tons of details that Pokémon fans will love. I can’t wait to go back the next time I’m in Tokyo!

The post Visiting the Pokémon Café in Tokyo appeared first on Chic Pixel.

This month, we’re shifting the Community Game-Along theme focus away from genres of games to a game developer! The theme for May is Game Freak, the Japanese game developer famous for the Pokémon series. But that’s not all! This month is a great time to dive into the rest of their catalog, from Drill Dozer to Pocket Card Jockey.

As with every month in the Community Game-Along, all you need to do to particpate is pick a game that fits the theme and play it sometime during the month! You can share your experience using #GameFreakMonth on social media. Blog posts, let’s plays, photos of your collection, podcasts, and any other types of submissions are most welcome!

If you’re not sure what game to play, here are a few suggestions:

HarmoKnight (3DS) – This cute rhythm game for the 3DS is a unique IP, but features some references to Pokémon, such as in the screenshot above. It only requires two buttons to be pressed in time with the music and has a total of eight worlds (seven plus one bonus stage), so it might not take you all that long to get through, but those looking for a fun little experience should consider grabbing this off the 3DS eShop!

Giga Wrecker Alt. (Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PS4) – This new release from Game Freak is perfect for this month! The original game, Giga Wrecker, came out for PC in 2017, and now the expanded edition Giga Wrecker Alt. is coming to Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PS4 on May 2nd. This 2D puzzle platformer features 20 new levels that weren’t in the PC version, along with an extra hard mode and hint system, making it the definitive Giga Wrecker experience.

Pokémon Quest (Nintendo Switch, iOS/Android) – If you’re looking for a free game to play this month, look no further than Pokémon Quest! (I bet you thought I was going to suggest Pokémon Go, didn’t you?) Battle enemies by tapping, build a team with your favorite first gen Pokémon, and deck out your home base with fun decorations. Of course, Pokémon Go is a great option, too!

Pokémon Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! (Nintendo Switch) – Of course, I couldn’t neglect to mention at least one Pokémon game this month! Though Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! don’t really need an introduction… If you have yet to play a Pokémon game, one of these would be a great place to start, as it offers a way to experience the world of the original games with some modern quality of life upgrades, such as a Pokémon Go-like method of catching Pokémon.

The post May 2019 Community Game-Along: Game Freak appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Sumikko Gurashi: Atsumare! Sumikko Town is the second game featuring Sumikko Gurashi characters to come out on the Nintendo Switch in Japan. The first game, Sumikko Park e Youkoso, was a Mario Party-style party game, while Sumikko Town is a town building game with a few mini-games sprinkled in.

Sumikko Park e Youkoso was adorable, but I ultimately found it rather repetitive, and soon grew tired of it. Does Sumikko: Gurashi: Atsumare! Sumikko Town step up the variety and fill the gap until Animal Crossing comes out on the Switch? Read on to find out!

If you prefer a video overview or want to see the game in action, check out the gameplay video above! I go over all the major features of the game, and you’ll get an idea for what the gameplay flow is like.

In Atsumare! Sumikko Town, you start with an empty plot of land and five Sumikko with big dreams… Well, I think they just want a place to sleep, to be honest. You set them up by building the necessities, namely houses (one for each Sumikko, though up to two can live in a house together) and shops. The shops earn you a little money every so often, which can be collected by clicking on the store when a coin purse icon appears above it.

As you add more things to your town, you’ll earn money from everything from flower pots to trees, and even manholes… I’m not even going to attempt to understand why. The more money, the better, right?

Another way to earn money, which is required to purchase things for your town, which in turn earns you points to level up your town so you can purchase even more stuff, is by playing mini-games. There are a total of eight minigames in Sumikko Gurashi: Atsumare! Sumikko Town, but I spent most of the game with six or so, and only unlocked the eighth after maxing out my town’s start level all the way.

I found the mini-games the best way to quickly earn money early on, which meant I played them a lot. By far the easiest, and thus my favorite, was the surfing mini-game, where you catch waves and do tricks to earn points. All the mini-games are pretty simple, but some have more brutal computer players for some reason, and there’s still one game that I can’t seem to beat the computer at!

While you’re purchasing items and building up your town, you’re also sporadically earning sumigokochi, or “comfort” points (the word refers to comfort specifically in terms of living space). By earning enough sumigokochi to level up your town (max level is five stars) you’ll unlock new things, such as buildings and items to purchase for the town.

Sumigokochi can be earned in a variety of ways, such as petting the Sumikko, interacting with Sumikko when they want to do something (an exclamation mark will pop up above their head), or fulfilling certain prerequisites, such as taking a screenshot of a certain Sumikko doing a certain activity.

The vast majority of my time with Sumikko Gurashi: Atsumare! Sumikko Town was spent watching the Sumikko mill around town, waiting for them to do something cute for me to take a picture of and earn points, and playing the minigames. Just like Sumikko Park e Youkoso!, the pace of everything is very slow, and as a result, I found Sumikko Town to be a very good game to fall asleep with. It’s a lot less Animal Crossing and a lot more Sumikko ant farm.

To be fair, the game is very cute. But like the previous game, I personally found it to be too repetitive and slow-paced to keep me engaged very long. Even getting the Sumikko to fulfill some of the tasks by interacting with a specific item is extremely hard – in fact, I was never able to successfully “encourage” them to do something by placing them next to a thing I needed them to engage with in order to complete a task.

I guess the only other option is to watch them wander around for hours until they eventually do what you need them to? I’m still waiting for two Sumikko to use the seesaw I built…

Other things to do include designing the layout of your town, using tickets for the “gacha machine” (technically a lottery, called fukubiki) to unlock costumes, items, and stickers, and viewing special events that unlock after certain requirements are fulfilled. All of these things certainly are cute, but didn’t really add much to my enjoyment of the game.

Perhaps if you really love designing town layouts, you may have more fun with that than I did, but since it doesn’t really matter where you put anything (or how “good” your town looks), I found myself just plopping things down wherever they seemed to fit.

Since Sumikko Gurashi: Atusmare! Sumikko Town is only available in Japanese, I’d like to talk briefly about the language skills required to fully enjoy it. Like Sumikko Park e Youkoso!, Sumikko Town has furigana over all kanji, so you don’t need to have a high level of kanji knowledge to read it. But unlike the Mario Party-style mini-games of the previous game, which are pretty easy to get the hang of if you don’t understand any Japanese, Sumikko Town requires a little Japanese knowledge to navigate the game if you want to maximize your ability to earn sumigokochi by fulfilling tasks.

If you’re worried about navigating the game with limited to no Japanese knowledge, I recommend checking out my gameplay video above. I cover all the major aspects of the game, so you could use that as a guide to help you through the various systems if you decide to pick it up. If you are a Japanese language learner, this is a great game for beginners, as the vocabulary isn’t too difficult in general, and the repetition is great for drilling in the new words and phrases.

Despite the repetitiveness of the game, I managed to grind my way to a five-star town… Which unlocked absolutely no new shops to build, and was rather disappointing overall (some things do happen, but I won’t say what for those who want to play the game). I can see myself going back to have a look at the cuteness once in a great while, but I really wish I had a better impression of Sumikko Gurashi: Atsumare! Sumikko Town overall.

By the way, assets and even some music were clearly reused from Sumikko Park e Youkoso!, and while there definitely is more to do than the previous game, the developers still haven’t solved the issue of making their games engaging to play for more than 10 minutes at a time.

For that reason, and it pains me to say this, but Atsumare! Sumikko Town would probably be better as a mobile game. If you’re a die-hard Sumiko Gurashi fan or have a high tolerance for cute games that aren’t particularly interesting gameplay-wise, you’ll probably have fun with Sumikko Gurashi: Atusmare! Sumikko Town. Otherwise, you might be better off waiting for the eventual Animal Crossing game for your cute town game fix on Nintendo Switch.

Thanks to my Patreon supporters for voting on this game for me to review! If you’d like to have your say on what Japanese games I review in the future, become a member of my Patreon for just $3 per month!

The post Sumikko Gurashi: Atsumare! Sumikko Town Review appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Spring is in the air in the Northern Hemisphere, which makes it a perfect time to enjoy growing and tending to crops in video games. You won’t even get your hands dirty! That’s right, this month the Community Game-Along is dedicated to farming games!

To participate in the farming game Community Game-Along, play a farming game or game with farming elements and share your thoughts and experiences using #FarmingGameMonth on social media. Blog posts, let’s plays, live streams, photos of your collection, podcasts… All kinds of contributions are welcome!

I must apologize for being behind on the usual roundup posts, but I will be catching up on my backlog this month so that starting in May, I’ll be able to round up April’s contributions in a timely manner. I make sure to highlight participants throughout the month on social media, so keep the contributions coming!

If you’re not sure what to play, here are a few ideas to get you started:

Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns (3DS) – This classic Japanese farming game series was previously localized into English under the Harvest Moon name. Now, it’s being released as Story of Seasons, and Trio of Towns is the latest entry. When it comes to farming games, you can’t go wrong with either Story of Seasons of classic Harvest Moon titles such as Friends of Mineral Town.

My Time at Portia (PC, Switch PS4, Xbox One) – If you like a farming game with a little bit of everything, including tending crops, befriending animals, customizing your home, and venturing into ruins and dungeons, My Time at Portia has all that and more! From what I’ve heard, it leans less on the farming aspects and more on running a shop, but it still totally counts for this month’s Community Game-Along theme. It’s currently available for PC, and comes out for Switch, PS4, and Xbox One on the 16th!

Farm Together (PC/OS X/Linux, Switch, PS4, Xbox One) – If you prefer farming to be a group activity, Farm Together might be for you. Time in Farm Together continues to move forward even when you’re not playing the game, and you can open your farm up to friends or the public and see how others contribute!

Stardew Valley (PC/OS X/Linux, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, Vita, iOS/Android) – Stardew Valley is so popular, it likely needs no introduction. It has all the farming elements you need, including four player co-op. It’s the only game on my suggestion list to be available for iOS and Android, so if you’re looking for a farming game for your phone, this might be a good pick! Another option for phones is Pixel Farm, which is free to download.

Rune Factory 4 (3DS) – Rune Factory might be one of the lesser-known farming series, but I absolutely love how it adds fantasy RPG elements to the mix! Plus, the characters are all super adorable. If you’re interested in picking up Rune Factory 4 for this month, however, keep in mind that an enhanced version will be coming to the Switch later this year. There are also previous titles in the series for DS, Wii, and even PS3!

What farming game will you be playing this month? Share your pick along with your favorite farming game suggestions in the comments!

The post April 2019 Community Game-Along: Farming Games appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Now that we’re a third of the way through 2019, it may seem silly to still be looking back at 2018. But the truth is, there’s so much great media from 2018 that I’m still catching up!

While I probably won’t ever be completely caught up on all the games I want to play, manga I want to read, and anime I want to watch, I feel that at this point I’ve been able to sample the 2018 releases I was most interested in and deliver a list of my favorite media from the year.

So, if you’re looking for some new media to check out, read on to see what I found most memorable from 2018!

“Division Battle Anthem” – Division All Stars (Hypnosis Mic)
It’s not very often that I recommend music since it isn’t really in this site’s wheelhouse, but hear me out. “Division Battle Anthem” is a song sung by twelve prominent Japanese voice actors who were brought together for this new media property that launched at the end of 2017 called Hypnosis Mic.

Hypnosis Mic started as drama CDs featuring said voice actors playing the roles of members of four different rap groups representing different regions in Tokyo and Yokohama in an alternate universe where rap battles settle conflicts instead of weapons.

Sounds pretty wild, right? Each CD generally comes with one or more music tracks and accompanying drama tracks that help flesh out the characters and story. “Divison Battle Anthem,” however, is available on its own and features not one, but all four groups in a surprisingly catchy song. It’s pretty much what got me turned on to Hypnosis Mic, and now I can’t get enough of my favorite group Matenro!

Thunderbolt Fantasy season 2
I absolutely loved the first season of Thunderbolt Fantasy, but I wasn’t sure that the second season could live up to the high bar it set. I’m happy to say that while it was different, and perhaps not quite as shocking in terms of plot development, I thoroughly enjoyed the return of surprisingly brutal puppet antics directed by Uroboshi Gen. If you like a slightly different sort of action series, I highly recommend starting with the first season.

My only main complaint with the Thunderbolt Fantasy series, which is particularly prominent in season 2, is that the female characters kind of get the short end of the stick. I really hope there are more female characters in season 3!

Usotsuki Hime to Moumoku Ouji (Liar Princess and Blind Prince)
Out of all the games I played in 2018, this is the one I’ve gushed about the most. It has a lovely dark fairytale story and aesthetic that you don’t see often in games.

Plus, if you were ever mad about how Ico’s director said they couldn’t make a game with a female protagonist because she’d have to wear a skirt, this is a great example of a girl leading a boy through a game in a skirt and it beingperfectly fine.

While some of the gameplay is a little rough around the edges, Usotsuki Hime to Moumoku Ouji is short enough that it never gets too frustrating and yet still tells a very fulfilling, complete (albeit bittersweet) tale. Check out my full review and then grab the English version, which just came out in February!

Laid-Back Camp
I’ll admit, when I see an anime with promotional art consisting entirely of cute high school girls, I immediately bristle. Laid-Back Camp is certainly full of cute girls, but it doesn’t treat them like objects for a presumed male gaze as I initially feared. Instead, it focuses on the girls’ individual personalities and growing relationships with one another – all centered around their love for camping.

The long, peaceful scenes of different characters just enjoying camping are incredibly soothing, and by the end of each episode, I felt this happiness that I rarely get from watching a series, anime or otherwise. Laid-Back Camp may have a premise around a high school club and that one introvert who doesn’t want to join, but unlike countless other anime I’ve seen, she is never forced to join the club. Rather, she spends much of her time camping alone, and she’s never nagged about it by the other girls, who instead communicate with her via supportive texts and photos of their own camping adventures.

If you want to watch girls enjoying nature and friendships in their own, individual ways (and perhaps gain a new appreciation for nature yourself!), I highly recommend checking it out. Laid-Back Camp is available to watch on Crunchyroll.

sweet pool
I’ve been waiting for BL games to come out in English for what seems like forever, but when sweet pool was announced, I was a little apprehensive. Much more a game for those who like horror than those who like BL, sweet pool is extremely unsettling and not what I would describe as a “fun” game to play.

Regardless, I still was enthralled by it, and aspects of the game will be sure to stick with me for a long time. In that way, it’s definitely one of the most impactful games I played in 2018.

Check out my full review, along with the special episode of Pixel x Pixel Marcus and I recorded about sweet pool! The second half delves into spoilers, but the first half is a great primer on BL games and what to expect out of this one. (Disclaimer: I did some consulting for the English PR team for sweet pool)

Satoko and Nada
Satoko and Nada is a heartwarming manga about a Japanese woman and a Saudi Arabian woman who are roommates studying abroad at a college in the US. It’s written in the four-panel style, so it’s full of short, fun vignettes and perfect for reading in short bursts.

When there’s so much awful going on in the world because people won’t tolerate those who are different than them, it’s really wonderful to see a manga about two women learning about one another’s cultures, as well as America.

If you’re interested in reading about what a study abroad experience feels like, it does a great job conveying the joys and difficulties of that experience, too. Even if you don’t read a lot of manga, Satoko and Nada is easy to recommend. I hope it will become a mainstay in school libraries and hope to see more buzz around it as more volumes come out in English!

There was certainly a lot of great media that came out in 2018, but these were some of my personal standouts! What did anime, manga, games, or other media did you enjoy from last year? Share your favorites in the comments!

The post Chic Pixel’s Favorite Media of 2018 appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Have you seen the new Eevee Tamagotchi models available in Japan? It’s totally adorable! Of course, I had to pick one up, and I used the opportunity to film an unboxing video! In the video, I also hatch my first Eevee and go through how to play it in Japanese. Check it out below!

I ordered the tan, だいすきイーブイ (love Eevee) version from Amazon Japan with a forwarding service since they don’t ship directly to Australia. It ended up costing me about $50 all together. There is also a version with a pink face called カラフルフレンズ (colorful friends) that tends to be at least $10 cheaper than the love Eevee version, and is completely the same in terms of the internal Tamagotchi itself.

Some sites are really inflating the price of the Eevee Tamagotchi (and it’s already pretty expensive for a basic Tamagotchi), so be careful where you shop! I recommend going the Amazon Japan route if possible. If you need a forwarding service to forward it to your country, I have a detailed post about my experience using Tenso, which is the company I use for all forwarding from Japan.

I wanted what evolution I got to be a surprise, so I haven’t used a guide on any of my attempts. The truth is, my very first Eevee left because I neglected it! During my flight to the US at the end of February, I forgot to take it out of my backpack. When I arrived in the US, I finally remembered to have a look… And my Eevee had run away, leaving only an empty Pokeball and the words “bye bye.” So sad!

Luckily, my second attempt went much better! After a couple of days, my Eevee evolved into Sylveon. Sylveon is one of my favorite evolutions, so I was totally thrilled! I’m actually still taking care of the same Sylven. It’s so cute, I can’t bring myself to reset! The next evolution I’d like to try for is the secret Team Rocket Eevee. One of these days I’ll either neglect my Slyveon enough that it runs away, or decide I’ve had enough and reset.

If you want to find out how to get a specific evolution,
NintendoSoup has a comprehensive guide. Be sure to check out my video to see the Eevee Tamagotchi in action!

The post Eevee Tamagotchi Unboxing Video appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Sady, after an eight-year run, the PS Vita’s life has come to an end. As of this week, consoles have officially stopped being produced in Japan, well after units (and games!) became hard to find on shelves overseas.

Perhaps you’re like me and loved the PS Vita for its extensive range of otome games, even in English. Or, maybe you’ve been on the fence about getting a PS Vita and want to know if it’s worth the purchase just for the English otome games available. To help you on your quest, no matter what it may be, I’ve compiled a list of all English PS Vita otome games, both physical and digital!

Since PS Vita games and PS Vita systems will only get harder to find as time goes on, it’s a good idea to pick up any otome games you want before it’s too late. Digital games probably won’t be made unavailable anytime soon, but in order to keep this list as comprehensive as possible, I’m including them here. (Digital PS Vita games will be available for purchase as long as the PSN store is kept up and running on the PS Vita.)

Amazon links in this post are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking one. A lot of time and effort goes into making posts like these, so your support is greatly appreciated!

Amnesia: Memories (PSN) – Amnesia is one of the more famous otome game series in Japan, but unfortunately it’s only available digitally for the PS Vita in English. You start the game as a protagonist with amnesia, and depending on which world you choose to go to, you’ll be in a relationship with a different character.

Amnesia: Memories is also available digitally for PC.

Bad Apple Wars (Amazon) – This otome game has a rather dark premise: the protagonist is hit by a car on her first day of school and finds herself in a school for lost souls where she must choose between two warring groups of students. Depending on which side you pick, there are different romance options.

Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ (Amazon) – At the end of the PS Vita’s life, Code: Realize wins the award for being the most prolific otome game series available in English for the platform available (Hakuoki is just behind with two games). If you pick up this title, you’ll be rewarded with a great steampunk story with a great female protagonist and two fan discs full of lots of sweet romantic moments.

Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ is also available for PS4 with Code: Realize Future Blessings in the Code: Realize Bouquet of Rainbows bundle.

Code: Realize Future Blessings (Amazon) – This is the first Code: Realize fan disc, which is not exactly a full-fledged sequel, but rather additional content for fans of the original game. If you played Code: Realize and can’t get enough, pick this one up!

Code: Realize Future Blessings is also available for PS4 with Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ in the Code: Realize Bouquet of Rainbows bundle.

Code: Realize Wintertide Miracles (Amazon) – This is the second  Code: Realize fan disc and should only be played after you’ve played the previous two games in the series. Some of the stories take place around Christmas, making them great to play during the festive season!

Collar x Malice (Amazon) – Yet another mystery otome game, Collar x Malice sets itself apart from other games by following a female police officer as she tries to uncover the secrets behind a series attacks in Shinjuku.

Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds (Amazon) – Hakuoki has the honor of being the first major otome game to be released in English back on the PSP. If you’ve been wanting to try this famous otome game series set in historical Japan, filled with hot, bloodthirsty samurai, Kyoto Winds and Edo Blossoms together make the definitive Hakuoki experience. Just keep in mind that Kyoto Winds is only the first half of the story – you need Edo Blossoms to complete it.

Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds is also available digitally for PC.

Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms (Amazon) – The second half of the Hakuoki story on PS Vita. Be sure to pick this up if you’ve played Kyoto Winds.

Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms is also available digitally for PC.

Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom (PSN) – The very first otome game by a major Japanese developer to be released in English! Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom is for PSP, but is available to play on PS Vita digitally via PSN, so I’m adding it to this list. Keep in mind that it will be a cheaper option to buying both Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds and Edo Blossoms, but it also has less characters and none of the enhancements of the PS Vita version, such as prettier graphics.

Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom is also available physically for PSP and iOS/Android as simply Hakuoki.

Hakuoki: Warriors of the Shinsengumi (PSN) – If you can’t get enough Hakuoki, this hack and slash PSP action game that takes place in the Hakuoki universe is also available for PS Vita on PSN.

Hakuoki: Warriors of the Shinsengumi is also available physically for the PSP.

Hatoful Boyfriend (PSN) – This “pigeon dating sim” may seem like a joke, and it’s certainly full of them, but it’s actually a lot more than that. You’ll just have to play and find out what I mean! It’s available digitally for the PS Vita.

Hatoful Boyfriend is also available digitally for PS4.

Hatoful Boyfriend: Holiday Star (PSN) – I can’t believe we have not one, but two holiday-themed otome games on this list! Holiday Star is the sequel/fan disc to Hatoful Boyfriend. Be sure to play the previous game first!

Hatoful Boyfriend: Holiday Star is also available digitally for PS4.

London Detective Mysteria (PSN) – London Detective Mysteria is XSEED Games’ first otome game localization, and is only available digitally for PS Vita in English. If you’re looking for more steampunk style-romance with a dash of mystery, London Detective Mysteria might be for you!

London Detective Mysteria is also coming to PC on an unspecified future date.

Norn9: Var Commons (Amazon) – Norn9 is one of the earlier PS Vita otome games to be released in English from Aksys Games. There are three different protagonists, each with three male romance options, for a total of nine different male characters to date. If you’re looking for something with a more sci-fi bent, Norn9: Var Commons might be a good choice.

Period Cube: Shackles of Amadeus (Amazon) – Period Cube takes the popular trope of being trapped in an MMO and turns it into an otome game. The protagonist is looking for her lost brother and trying to figure out the secret behind the strange designation she has in the game, despite the fact that she’s never played before.

Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly (Amazon) – What if you suddenly woke up in a creepy mansion with no idea how you got there or who you are, and then chased by a grotesque monster?! That’s exactly the premise of this dark, story-driven otome game!

Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk (Amazon) – Ashen Hawk is not a direct sequel to Black Butterfly, but I’ve heard it has some connections to the previous game that would enhance the experience if you’ve played Black Butterfly first. Both are dark mysteries, so if that’s your kind of otome game, be sure to pick them up!

7’scarlet (Amazon) – 7’scarlet is a mystery otome game where the protagonist goes to a town filled with legends and folklores in search of her missing older brother. The artist is the same as the famous otome game series Uta no Prince-sama!

Sweet Fuse: At Your Side (PSN) – Like some of the Hakuoki games, Sweet Fuse is a PSP game that’s available for the PS Vita digitally on PSN. This game features a protagonist who is trapped in a theme park with a group of hot men by a malevolent pig. Fans of video games will appreciate references such as the protagonist’s uncle being a character based on famous developer Keiji Inafune.

Sweet Fuse: At Your Side is also available physically for PSP.

It’s very unlikely any more otome games will come out in English for the PS Vita now that consoles and game cartridges are no longer being made, so consider this list complete. In the off chance there is a game released digitally later on, I will be sure to update this list!

If you’re new to otome games on the PS Vita and don’t know where to start, check out my top 10 favorite otome games available in English! Many of the games on this list also appear there.

The post Complete List of English Otome Games for PS Vita appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Back in 2014, I did the first Monster Hunter Community Game-Along to celebrate the series’ 10th anniversary. Well, the Game-Along is finally celebrating its own anniversary, because 2019 marks the 5th anniversary of the Monster Hunter Community Game-Along!

Now, the Monster Hunter Community Game-Along doesn’t just celebrate Monster Hunter games, but all the games that have been inspired by this series, such as God Eater, Soul Sacrifice, Toukiden, and more. If you’re fighting big monsters in arena-based battles, you’re probably playing a game influenced by Monster Hunter!

Participate this month by playing a Monster Hunter games such as Monster Hunter: World for PS4, Xbox One, or PC, or Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch. Of course, Monster Hunter-inspired games such as the titles mentioned above also count!

Then, share your experiences, favorite games, game collection, let’s play videos, or whatever else you like on social media using #MonMonth. Everyone who uses the hashtag has a chance to be featured in the roundup post I’ll publish the following month!

For game suggestions, head to the 2016 and 2014 posts, as well as the 2018 round-up post for more options of different Monster Hunter-like games that you can play this month. There’s also God Eater 3, which just came out in February for PS4 and PC! If you’re still stumped with what to play, check out #MonMonth to see what everyone else is playing.

What Monster Hunter or Monster Hunter-like game will you be playing this month? I plan to finally to finally check out Monster Hunter: Stories for the 3DS (also available for iOS/Android, making it a great option for folks looking for a game to play on their phones!). Let me know what you’re playing, or share your favorite picks for this month’s theme in the comments!

The post March 2019 Community Game-Along: Monster Hunter-likes appeared first on Chic Pixel.

To celebrate the dating sim Community Game-Along, I’ve teamed up with MangaGamer to give away one digital copy of their upcoming otome game, Steam Prison! This exciting steampunk romance comes out on PC just in time for Valentine’s Day, and you could be one of the first to play on release day!

Just enter using the widget below. Be sure to check back every day to complete daily entries for more chances to win!

The giveaway closes on February 14th at 4:05 pm PST (7:05 pm EST) and is open worldwide. One winner will receive a code for Steam Realize redeemable on Steam. The winner will be randomly selected and contacted via email shortly after the giveaway ends so you can start playing as soon as possible. Good luck!

Steam Prison DatingSiMonth Giveaway

The post Steam Prison DatingSiMonth Giveaway appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Did you know I have a TeePublic curator store called Chic Pixel Picks? How about the fact that by purchasing awesome cute and nerdy items handpicked by me, you’re supporting independent artists and Chic Pixel at the same time? Well, now you do!

To celebrate 8 years of the Chic Pixel blog, I thought it would be fun to round up my top 10 favorite designs in my Teepublic curator store. Though I’ve decided to feature specific products that I think really suit each design, keep in mind that every design is available in a wide range of merchandise, including t-shirts, hoodies, tank tops, tote bags, mugs, phone cases, and more!

Purchasing items from my store is also a great way to support Chic Pixel, as I earn a commission for every purchase. On top of that, all designs are created by independent creators who also receive a commission when you buy their work from my store. It’s win/win!

So, whether you’re looking for a cute new nerdy t-shirt to ramp up your style or a phone case to show off your current favorite game, read on for some awesome hand-picked designs!

Follow Your Heart tote bag – Can’t get enough Kingdom Hearts? This tattoo-style design is perfect for showing off your love of the series! The “follow your heart” phrase is awesome and uplifting, too.

Ignore the Anime Packaging pillow – I have this very pillow on my couch next to me right now, and I absolutely adore it! It’s funny enough on its own, but for full context, it refers to a tweet made by the New York Times in 2017 promoting a review of mascara featuring a character from The Rose of Versailles that suggested you should ignore the anime character on the package and just appreciate the good mascara. Never ignore the anime packaging!

Starter Grow Set t-shirt – I love miski for her cute and colorful Pokemon, Splatoon, and other game-related designs, and this Ivysaur succulent terrarium is one of my favorite designs! Check out the adorable sleeping Oddish in the background!

Part-time Magical Girl mug – Fancy yourself a part-time magical girl? Now you can imagine your butt-kicking alter ego every morning while sipping your favorite beverage! I have this mug, and using it always brightens my day.

Save Your Game phone case – The Final Fantasy IX moogles that save your game by writing down your adventures in a book are the best! Share your love for these adorable moogles with this great design. Don’t forget to save your game!

Pink Puff Aesthetic long sleeve t-shirt – This design is one of my absolute favorites for its pastel, 80s aesthetic. And it features Kirby’s adorable face! What’s not to love?!

Darumario t-shirt – This design is a little different from my usual favorites, but I love how it combines iconic Mario imagery with a traditional Japanese daruma. Usually, when you buy a daruma doll, both its eyes are blank. You think of a goal and color in one eye, and then when that goal is fulfilled, you fill in the other. For a comprehensive history of daruma and what they represent, check out this awesome article!

Feel Good INK 2.0 laptop case – Crossover designs are always fun, and this Splatoon art that emulates the famous Demon Days album cover by Gorillaz is as good as it gets! I love how the artist drew Callie, Marie, Pearl and Marina. This would make an awesome t-shirt, too!

Mushroom Kingdom Roller Girls tank top – I absolutely adore this cute roller derby-style design featuring Princess Peach! I can totally see myself wearing this tank while (attempting to) work out. I hate exercising in general, but this design inspires me to get moving!

Chic Pixel Logo sticker – Of course, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to share my love for the amazing Chic Pixel logo design by my former Chic Pixel Plus podcast co-host and good friend, Sarah! Share your love for the site with this awesome sticker that you can put on a water bottle, laptop case, or wherever else you please!

Thanks for reading, and be sure to check out the Chic Pixel Picks curator store for tons more video game and anime-inspired designs! Here’s to many more years of Chic Pixel!

The post Top 10 Chic Pixel Picks Curator Store Products appeared first on Chic Pixel.

February 1st has meant exactly one thing here at Chic Pixel: It’s the start of the dating sim Community Game-Along! Get in the romantic spirit for Valentine’s Day or just because romance games are awesome by playing a dating sim anytime this month to participate!

Join in the fun by choosing one or more dating sim games to play in February and share what you think using #DatingSiMonth on social media! You can also write a review of your game, do a let’s play series, stream on Twitch, sing a song about it, or even make your very own dating sim game to celebrate! If you post using the hashtag and stay on theme, your contribution will have a chance to be featured in the monthly Community Game-Along roundups I post every following month! It’s time to get playing!

To clarify, for the purposes of this event, a dating sim refers to any game where there is a significant portion of gameplay dedicated to building romantic relationships with characters.

If you want to play something like Mass Effect or Harvest Moon that’s not a “dating sim” per say, that’s perfectly fine, too! The important thing is that February is for celebrating love in games!

There happens to be a lot of new games that fit the dating sim bill coming out this month, so I’ve rounded some new and old title suggestions to get you started!

Steam Prison (PC) – This gorgeous visual novel is an upcoming otome game from MangaGamer set to come out on the auspicious day of February 14th. The story takes place in a world where there are two kinds of people, the rulers and the ruled, and the protagonist happens to be in the former category. But when she has to venture down to the realm of the ruled, the wheels of fate begin to turn… Sound up your alley? If you preorder Steam Prison from MangaGamer’s site, you can get it at a discounted price of $31.45!

Monster Prom (PC, Mac, Linux) – There aren’t many games that bill themselves as multiplayer dating sims, but Monster Prom is one of them. Play by yourself or with up to three friends to secure a date in the three weeks leading up to the monster prom! You can’t go wrong with these cuties if you’re a monster fan like me. And if you enjoy the base game, there’s expansion titled Monster Prom: Second Term coming out on the 14th with even more characters and events!

Arcade Spirits (PC, Mac, Linux) – Arcade Spirits asks a very important question: What would the world be like if the 1983 video game crash never happened? Featuring the ability to fully customize the appearance and pronouns of the player character, you are then free to become friends with and even fall in love with its fun cast of seven romanceable characters, all against a fun arcade backdrop. If you want to see if Arcade Spirits is for you before the game releases on the 12th, check out the demo on its Steam page!

Code: Realize Wintertide Miracles (PS Vita, PS4) – Why yes, it’s yet another Code: Realize game! Technically the third game in the series, Wintertide Miracles is really the second fan disc, which generally denotes not a full-fledged sequel, but rather an add-on with more story and character interactions for fans of the original game. The “if” stories in Wintertide Miracles take place after the Finis route in Future Blessings and detail everyone’s first Christmas together, and there are also “triangle date” scenarios as well as individual character stories that take place after Future Blessings. If you can’t wait for more Code: Realize goodness, Wintertide Miracles comes out on the 14th!

Highway Blossoms (PC, Mac, Linux) – If you’re looking for a sweet romance between two girls on a road trip together, Highway Blossoms is a cute, relatively short visual novel set in the in the American Southwest. There’s also an 18+ patch that unlocks 2 sex scenes, but from what I’ve heard the game is perfectly enjoyable without them. I don’t know much else about this one aside from the fact that it comes recommended by Pixel x Pixel cohost Marcus, so that’s gotta count for something!

If you’re looking for more dating sim Community Game-Along game ideas, check out my posts from 2014 and 2016! This year, I’ll be playing through How to Sing to Open Your Heart, Steam Prison, and Arcade Spirits. Sound like a lot? Follow me on Twitter to see how far I get!

What game(s) will you be playing this month? Let me know in the comments!

The post February 2019 Community Game-Along: Dating Sims appeared first on Chic Pixel.

It’s time for a long overdue roundup of the November and December 2018 Community Game-Along themes! There were a lot of great games played over the two months, so read on if you’re looking for any new titles to add to your to-play list!

First, for November’s visual novel theme, JRPG.moe reviewed Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception , @Data_Error wrote about Digital: A Love Story at This Thing is Neat, the M Disk Gauntlet returned with Heaven Will Be Mine. Then, over at Gamer Girl Confessions, Chestnut wrote about her VNNovember gaming goals.

When your weird post at 3AM gets zero likes or retweets #Umineko #VNNovember pic.twitter.com/dxfBtlZzUC

— Kirariwoo (@Kamiwoo) November 14, 2018

Meanwhile, on Twitter, there were also lots of folks playing different games. @berrycrepes played Kitty Love: A Way to Look for Love, @kindofpersonal played 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors,  @capsulejay played the story mode of BlazBlue, and @otomeroadie played Muv Luv.

 

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Here is my #VNNovember game! Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc! I’ve been wanting to play for a long time and I thought this month was the right time.

A post shared by Émilia (@feuillemobile) on Nov 14, 2018 at 4:46pm PST

@finchiekins completed Chaos;Child,  @thegaygamer completed Death Mark, and @electrobat82 finished RE:Alistair++. Great job! I love the huge range of different kinds of visual novels everyone played in November!

???????????? #VNNovember pic.twitter.com/jogWHDJEwW

— Iman ☆ (@stellarclass) November 17, 2018

Moving on to December’s theme of doujin games, there were just two participants, likely due to the combination of the niche theme and everyone being busy in December. But that’s okay! That means the two participants get their own special spotlights!

First, Capsulejay at Tales from the Backlog played and reviewed Helen’s Mysterious Castle, I game I’ve personally been interested in. I had the chance to watch Capsulejay livestream some of his playthrough, and it was a ton of fun!

Meanwhile, Nitro continued his amazing work with the M Disk Gauntlet with one final challenge: Rockman 4 Minus Infinity. Rather than being an original game, this is a ROM hack by a Japanese ROM hacker named Puresabe. I’ve never played anything like it before, so it was really interesting to watch!

And with that, we’ve come to the end of the 2018 Community Game-Alongs! As you’re probably well aware, the 2019 Game-Alongs are already in full swing. Check out the full list of 2019 themes to start planning your games for the year!

The post November + December 2018 Game-Along Roundups appeared first on Chic Pixel.

This is my first year purchasing a calendar by manga artist Moyoco Anno (Sakuran, Sugar Sugar Rune), so I couldn’t miss the opportunity to share! I don’t know how long Moyoco Anno has been selling limited run calendars in Japan, but I’ve been pining for one for a couple of years.

For 2019, I decided to get the wall-mounted calendar design featuring characters in kimono, which was 3,500 yen (approximately $35) with free shipping within Japan and limited to only 1000 units. At the time of this post, there are still some available, but keep in mind that you’ll need a forwarding service if you don’t live in Japan.

The calendar is a traditional style where you rip the pages off every month instead of flipping it, which is a bit daunting, so all the more reason to take a few pictures beforehand!

If you compare the above photo of the cover page to the one in the header image at the top of this post, you may notice a slight difference. That’s because the calendar came with a nice semi-transparent sheet on top. When you lift it, it reveals the amazing detail on the cover page, down to gold starfish that shine at different angles.

When I realized I would have to rip the monthly pages off to fully enjoy this calendar, I’ll admit I briefly wondered if I should’ve gotten the more standard desk calendar design instead. Well, as soon as I saw January’s page, I knew I’d made the right decision! Isn’t the illustration gorgeous? The combination of flowers, beautiful kimono, and the gold details quickly dashed any doubts I had!

The August page is another one of my favorites. I love the subtle flower printed on the whole sheet of paper. I considered not ripping the pages off along the perforated edge at the top to keep the calendar in pristine condition, but I want to be able to enjoy each and every month on my wall! Then, when the year is done, I can always display the images separately.

These black pages are so exquisite! The characters featured are predominately women, but I’m glad Moyoco Anno snuck a handsome fellow in, too.

Admittedly, this kind of calendar is much fancier than I’m used to, and I can’t use it to write on (I have another, less fancy calendar for that), but I’m so glad I splurged for it! If you like what you see here, reminder that you can still get one from Moyoco Anno’s official website! If you love her art as much as I do,  I promise you won’t regret it.

The post Moyoco Anno 2019 Calendar appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Sweet Pool, the first of JAST Blue’s Nitro+chiral BL game localizations, is finally out in English! Not only did I have the very exciting opportunity to contribute very slightly to its release as a PR consultant, but I’m thrilled to share my thoughts on the full game with you in this review. It’s not often we get an official English BL game release, so Sweet Pool‘s release is definitely cause for excitement!

When the news was first announced that Sweet Pool was going to come out in English in time for its 10th anniversary, I was thrilled, albeit surprised. As the first Nitro+chiral game to come out officially in English, it’s a rather interesting choice… because Sweet Pool is quite notorious for its dark horror themes and grotesque, body horror elements. So, while Sweet Pool is billed as a BL game, I would recommend anyone interested in it solely for the BL elements to tread with caution.

As someone who played and was fascinated by the similarly notorious Saya no Uta a few years ago, I’ve always been intrigued by Sweet Pool. The story centers around Youji, a high school boy who was held back a year due to illness and is only just returning to school. But just as he hopes his health is starting to look up, strange, unexplainable things start happening to his body, and his stoic classmate Tetsuo seems to be taking an odd interest in him. Between him, the food-loving Makoto, and the wild, unpredictable yakuza’s son Zenya, Youji has a whole lot more on his hands than just attending classes.

Discussing the story in any greater detail would, unfortunately, spoil a lot of what makes Sweet Pool so gripping to play. I found that visually, the horror was not quite as violent or grotesque as something like Saya no Uta, but be warned that the full 18+ version does contain graphic depictions of sex, rape, and blood in sex scenes.

Outside of the horror content, the story is very melancholy. There aren’t any happy endings for these boys, no matter how much you might wish they could live happily ever after. Speaking of endings, though there are endings for each main male character, the story makes it clear that one partnership is the focus of the story, and that character has multiple endings, while the others only have one each.

The way the routes are determined is not through the selection of text-based options, but by having Youji choose to go with instinct (red) or reason (blue). This is quite a unique way to handle choices in a visual novel and fits well with the game’s focus on the dichotomy between human reason and animalistic instinct.

Unfortunately, however, after a while it can feel like the choices you’re making don’t really matter that much because it’s hard to see how each choice impacts the flow of the story until the leadup to each ending. As such, while I generally recommend using a guide to play a visual novel if you want to see all the routes, I especially recommend it for Sweet Pool, as it also helps to play the story in the recommended order (Zenya’s ending, Makoto’s ending, and then all of Tetsuo’s endings) and informs you of the unlock order of the endings.

In total, it took me about 13 hours to complete all routes of the game. For how abysmal the story was, I was surprised by how much I liked many of the characters by the end, despite nearly all of them engaging in some pretty abhorrent things. Speaking of the individual endings, however, I actually ended up preferring some of the alternative endings to the “grand” ending that is unlocked after completing every other route, which I would assume is meant to be the “true” ending. It’s not often I don’t like the final ending as much as the others!

In many ways, it’s hard to describe how a horrific, dark game can be so enthralling, but I often found that even when the game thoroughly disgusted me, I couldn’t stop playing. The amazing, atmospheric music definitely added to the mood, and between that, the visuals, and the solid localization, the whole experience will stay with me for a long time.

That said, there were some aspects of the game that I found difficult to reconcile. Primarily, with all of the disturbing content I’ve discussed (and others I can’t for fear of spoilers), it was hard for me to feel strongly for the relationships that developed over the course of the game. The game’s tagline is “a bond deeper and darker than love,” which really is a great way of summarizing the relationships in the game.

While it does attest to how people can come together in extreme, isolating circumstances, there was too much awful behavior going on for me to feel particularly strongly for the fate of the characters in some of the latter endings. Apologies for the fact that I can’t go any further in depth into why in this review, but if you don’t mind spoilers (or have already finished the game), stop back tomorrow to listen to my spoiler impressions in the next episode of Pixel x Pixel!

Finally, it’s important to note that this review is entirely based on the full 18+ version of the game that can be purchased on JAST Blue‘s website, as DLC with the Steam version, or from Jlist as a physical edition. The reason I emphasize this is because the standard Steam version removes all of the 18+ content.

I understand that some people may not want to experience the graphic sexual material, but in the case of Sweet Pool it is definitely integral to the overall plot. From what I’ve heard from Pixel x Pixel podcast cohost Marcus, the way the explicit scenes were removed from the Steam version is confusing and jarring. The all-ages version may be an option, but I fear much of the impact of the game would be lost without the 18+ scenes.

Sweet Pool is a hard game to recommend without a lot of caveats, but if you’re okay with 18+ content and are looking for a disturbing, thought-provoking horror experience, Sweet Pool is unlike pretty much any other game available in English outside of Saya no Uta. It’s quite the release to kick off JAST Blue’s Nitro+chiral localizations, and I look forward to seeing what comes next!

Note: A review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review. As noted at the beginning of the review, I assisted with the game’s English PR as a consultant. The views expressed in this review are my honest opinion of the game.

The post Sweet Pool Review appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Not sure what to play for the Disney Game Community Game-Along? You’re in luck! To celebrate the first Game-Along of 2019, I’m giving away 1 Steam key for DuckTales: Remastered! Simply enter using the widget below.

The giveaway is open worldwide until 11:59 PM PST, January 20th, 2019. After that, a random winner will be selected and I will send the code to the email address provided. Good luck!

DuckTales: Remastered Giveaway

The post DuckTails: Remastered Giveaway for #DisneyGameMonth appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Happy new year! The 2019 Community Game-Along schedule is now in full swing! Thanks to the awesome suggestion from Nitro of the M Disk Playlist, the theme for January is Disney games. If you’re excited for the impending release of Kingdom Hearts III, playing a game based on a Disney movie or featuring Disney characters is a great way to get even more hyped!

If you’re new to the Community Game-Along, welcome! The Community Game-Along is an event that celebrates a different gaming theme every month. To participate, simply play a game that meets the theme, or if you don’t have time to do that, you can share your favorite picks for the current theme or even post a picture of related games in your collection!

Whether you play a game or not, share your contributions for the Disney game Community Game-Along all throughout January using the official hashtag #DisneyGameMonth! I round up contributions in a blog post after the conclusion of every Game-Along, so if you post using the hashtag, you may just be featured! If you’re looking for different ways to share the game you’re playing, consider writing a blog post, recording a podcast, or streaming on Twitch!

Not sure what game to play this month? Here are a few suggestions:

Disney Afternoon Collection (PC, PS4, Xbox One) – This compilation of classic NES Disney platforming games is perfect if you can’t decide what to play! The games included are DuckTales, DuckTales 2, TaleSpin, Darkwing Duck, Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers, and Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers 2. If you’d like to play an updated version of one of the titles, there’s also DuckTales: Remastered. At the time of this post, the Disney Afternoon Collection also happens to be on sale on US PSN, AUS PSN, Steam, and Xbox One for the next couple of days!

Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (PC, iOS/Android, PS3, Xbox 360) – Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse is a 2.5D platformer and remake of the 1990 game of the same name. If you prefer a Disney platformer with more modern touches than some of the previous games mentioned, this might be a good choice for you. At the time of this post, Castle of Illusion is currently on sale on AUS PSN!

Disney Magical World 2 (3DS) – The Disney Magical World series is like a Disney version of Animal Crossing with light RPG elements mixed in. You can manage your own Disney-themed cafe, mix and match adorable outfits, grow crops, and more! The sequel has everything great from the original game and more, so if you’re new to the series I’d suggest grabbing Disney Magical World 2.

LINE: Disney Tsum Tsum (iOS, Android) – I’ll readily admit that there were a few months where I was totally obsessed with this adorable Tsum Tsum game! If you want something quick and easy to pick up, Tsum Tsum is perfect for when you have a couple minutes available (and it’s free!). It’s fundamentally a matching game, but it shakes things up by requiring you to match strings of Tsum Tsums as fast as possible, as you only have a very limited amount of time. Expect things to get crazy fast!

Of course, there are tons of other Disney games including the Kingdom Hearts series if you want to play those in the leadup to Kingdom Hearts III‘s release. I might try to see how far I can get in Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, which I’ve always wanted to play but never got around to picking up! Though I’m not confident I’ll finish it by the end of the month…

What’s on your list for the Disney Game-Along? Share your picks in the comments!

The post January 2019 Community Game-Along: Disney Games appeared first on Chic Pixel.

It’s time to announce the twelve Community Game-Along themes for 2019! Got a massive gaming backlog but don’t know where to begin? Itching to try a new style of video game, but have no idea where to start? That’s where the Community Game-Along comes in!

Each month of 2019 will center around a different theme, be it a game genre, series, or developer. To participate in the monthly Game-Along, just pick a game that fits the theme to play during the month! If you want to take your participation to the next level, write a blog post or review, record a let’s play or podcast, stream your chosen game, or whatever else you can come up with! The more we get folks talking about the Community Game-Along, the better!

At the beginning of every month, I’ll post an intro post with some game suggestions, so be sure to check back if you’re not sure what to play. If you share your participation in the event using the official hashtags, you might even be featured in my monthly roundup posts! Here’s the full list of all the themes and hashtags so you can start planning in advance:

January – Disney games #DisneyGameMonth
February – Dating simulation games/romance visual novels #DatingSiMonth
March – Monster Hunter (and MH-like) games #MonMonth
April – Farming games #FarmingGameMonth
May – Gamefreak #GamefreakMonth
June – Yakuza Studio #YakuzaStudioMonth
July – JRPGs #JRPGJuly
August – Fighting Games #FightingGameMonth
September – Sports Games #SportSeptember
October – Horror Games #HorrorGameOct
November – Visual Novels #VNNovember
December – Puzzle Games #PuzzleGameMonth

I’ve also made a handy image version for you to quickly reference or share in posts you make related to the Community Game-Along! Feel free to use it however you like!

This is my 6th year hosting the Community Game-Along, and I’m planning on 2019 to be the biggest one yet. That means more participation, more coverage, and more… giveaways?! Stay tuned to find out!

Last but not least, a huge thanks to the members of the Chic Pixel Pals Discord who suggested themes for 2019! If you’d like to join the conversation over in the Discord, fill out this form to receive an invite!

The post The 2019 Community Game-Along Master List appeared first on Chic Pixel.

I love Japan-related subscription boxes, especially when they offer something a little different from the usual snack and candy fare. Manga Spice Cafe is one such box!

Manga Spice Cafe is like getting a manga cafe experience delivered to your door every month. Each box contains snacks and candy as well as a selection of curated manga every month. If you can’t visit a manga cafe in Japan, this is the next best thing!

The folks at Manga Spice Cafe were kind enough to send me their recent magical girl box to review! Check out my unboxing video to see everything inside:

Manga Spice Cafe boxes are $36 per month for three manga, snacks, and a drink plus $3.95 for residents of the US and its territories. International subscribers will pay $39.95 plus $17 shipping. The Manga Spice Cafe site specifies that liquid drinks are only shipped within the USA, while international subscribers get a powdered drink due to the high cost of shipping heavy liquids.

Here’s a closer look at all of the candy that came inside! If you watched the video, you’ll know that the box was actually opened by Australian customs. I think it was the ramune drink that may have caused them concern, but nothing was removed from the box. As previously mentioned, normally only powered drinks are shipped to international customers, so keep that in mind that if you live outside the US you’d generally be getting a powdered drink.

Also, it’s worth noting that not all of the snacks include are Japanese, but an assortment of Japanese and other Asian food products. I personally would prefer a smaller range of items and more seasonal flavors or unique snacks. Some of the items, such as the ramen noodles and Koala no March are pretty easy to find in Asian grocery stores in Australia, though I understand this varies depending on individual tastes and what you have access to where you live.

As for the manga, I was very impressed by the titles chosen! The Sailor Moon Eternal volume costs at least $30 in Australia, so just the manga alone made the box a really great deal (the price for this volume is currently $18.16 on US Amazon). I’d been wanting to pick up a copy for myself, so I was thrilled to find it in the box! I also haven’t read Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card yet, so I am definitely looking forward to checking that out, too!

Unfortunately, the fact the Manga Spice Cafe box contains manga volumes means that shipping is more expensive than a lot of other subscription boxes for international subscribers due to the weight. I’d recommend keeping an eye on the monthly box previews on the website so you can have an idea of some of what you’ll be getting to hopefully avoid receiving a duplicate manga already in your collection.

For example, the December 2018 Manga Spice Cafe preview shows that each box will contain a copy of Mob Psycho 100 volume one plus two mystery manga, along with a box of pizza Pretz and other snacks, along with a drink. Check back at the beginning of each month to find the box that looks best for you, and keep an eye out for special themed boxes in the shop!

Note: A sample product was provided to Chic Pixel for the purpose of this review.

The post Manga Spice Cafe Review appeared first on Chic Pixel.

We’re finally here… The end of 2018, and the final Community Game-Along theme of the year! For December, we’ll be celebrating Japanese indie and hobbyist games, aka doujin games. Doujin games often don’t get the spotlight as much as western indie games, so this is a great opportunity to try a game you might not play otherwise!

As always, all you need to do to participate in a Community Game-Along is play one or more games that fit the theme sometime during the month. If you’re so inclined, share your experiences on your blog, YouTube channel, podcast, or elsewhere! You can also post your impressions on social media using #DoujinDecember. Around the middle of January I’ll round up as many submissions as I can in a blog post, so check back to see if you’ve been featured!

Since many people are not super familiar with doujin games, I have a few extra suggestions this month. Keep in mind that titles that may not necessarily fall within the “doujin” label due to their large development teams or mainstream status may still qualify if they have doujin origins!

Corpse Party (PC) – I love Corpse Party so much that I’ll pretty much take any opportunity possible to recommend it. There is a remade version for PSP that is more polished, but this PC version is closer to the original, which was made in RPG Maker. If you like horror games, Corpse Party is a must!

Fate/EXTELLA: The Umbral Star (PS4, PS Vita, Switch) – This Dynasty Warriors-style action game falls in the Fate series, which originated as a doujin visual novel. It may not be as accessible if you’re not familiar with the Fate series, but you can always check out one of the many anime adaptations and spinoffs to get up to speed! There’s also the free to play Fate/Grand Order for iOS and Android, which does not require much knowledge of the series to enjoy if you can tolerate gacha game mechanics.

Fatal Twelve (PC, Mac) – This visual novel was released earlier this year to some very positive reviews. The story is about a girl who is killed in an explosion and wakes up to find out that she and her friend have been selected to participate in a ritual of twelve people conducted over twelve weeks that gives them an opportunity to undo their deaths. If you like mysteries with anime-style visuals, Fatal Twelve may be worth a shot!

Märchen Forest: Mylne and the Forest Gift (PC) – If you’re looking for something more laid-back and cute to play this month, look no further than Märchen Forest. In this 3D RPG adventure, you play a little girl who lives in the forest with her grandpappy. In the first episode, the focus is on making potions, and the second episode introduces dungeons and RPG battles. It’s super charming!

Hatoful Boyfriend (PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, PS Vita, iOS, Android) – Hatoful Boyfriend is another game I tend to recommend for a lot of Game-Along events because it fits into so many categories! The basic premise is that it’s a romance visual novel aimed at women (aka otome game) where you date pigeons, but it’s oh so much more than that. It’s available for a huge range of platforms, making it very accessible, and there’s even a festive holiday-themed sequel, Holiday Star!

What will you be playing this month? Share your picks and other game recommendations in the comments!

The post December Community Game-Along: Doujin Games appeared first on Chic Pixel.

It’s nearly the end of November, but I’m still lamenting the end of the October horror game Community Game-Along! It’s always one of my favorite Game-Along themes, and I really enjoy seeing the huge range of scary or festive Halloween-y games people pick up to play.

In this post, I’ve rounded up some of the submissions people made using #HorrorGameOct on Twitter and Instagram! Read on to see what everyone got up to! You might just find a new game to add to your to-play list.

First up is the M Disk Gauntlet over at M Disk Playlist, which continued in October with Party 2, an RPG Maker title that sounds like it’s super creepy! The blog post contains both a link to the playthrough and the game, which can be downloaded for free.

Meanwhile, @CapsuleJay at Tales from the Backlog played a whopping three games and reviewed them for his site: Little Nightmares, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, and Momodora Reverie Under Moonlight.

 

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A post shared by doubutsunocorey (@doubutsunocorey) on Oct 12, 2018 at 5:20pm PDT

Bryan at The Gay Gamer blog was extremely busy! He started the month by writing about 6 games he planned to play during the festive Halloween season. He also completed Sweet Home and wrote a post about it, and tweeted about finishing Creeping Terror, Super Mario Land 2, and Undertale. Finally, he published a piece about the 3DS remake of Luigi’s Mansion and why he’s kicking himself for not having played it before. Awesome job this month, Bryan!

Meanwhile, @Misanthrobob reviewed Death Mark for RPGFan and @or3con reviewed the Japanese horror game Tsugu no Hi over at Jhipst3er Gamer. Fuwanovel posted the results of a community poll of the top 10 horror visual novels available in English, which is a great place to start for some horror visual novel ideas. Pixel x Pixel co-host Marcus also shows visual novels some love by playing the horror visual novel Neighbor and reviewing it over at his blog Pixel Pacas!

There were a bunch of stream contributions, too! @ggc_chestnut did some Twitch streaming of Layers of Fear and Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines, and wrote about her progress in the Game-Along at her blog! You can check out the post for links to all of her Twitch stream archives. Also over on Twitch, @bunnycartoon streamed some of the Overwatch Halloween event, and Goth Team Epic streamed Laplace no Ma.

 

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A post shared by Anne Lee (@apricotsushi) on Oct 7, 2018 at 6:09pm PDT

@magikarpwow also went above and beyond in the contributions this month! She finished Luigi’s Mansion for 3DS, Death Mark, Jake Hunter Detective Story: Ghost of the Dusk, participated in the Splatoon 2 Halloween Splatfest, and made it to Halloween Town in Kingdom Hearts! How’s that for festivities?!

In terms of podcasts, The Go Back and Play podcast posted an awesome Resident Evil-themed episode for the occassion. I also talk about the Overwatch Halloween event and the Splatoon 2 Halloween Splatfest on Pixel x Pixel episode 3!

On Twitter, @catacatacaka played Mysterious Forum & 7 Rumors, @matsumint played Yomawari: Night Alone, @LVLYsan finished Angels of Death on Switch, @GideonZhi played Mansion of Hidden Souls, @Patricklous completed Zero Time Dilemma, and @vanilla_buns and @winterbluemochi played Creeping Terror. @winterbluemochi also played and completed the Switch horror hidden object game Disease!

Also on Twitter, @lunaterra_ made an extensive thread of indie horror visual novel suggestions, many of which are free! I highly recommend checking it out, especially if you’re looking for something shorter to play.

19th #FinishedGame of 2018 is #LuigisMansion on #3DS for #HorrorGameOct and for #Halloween on October 31st pic.twitter.com/bh6D6FatUb

— キャプテンN (@Captain_N64) November 1, 2018

Finally, there were a few more game recommendations this month. @chlorokitty recommended Detention, which @jackal27 also played, while @marcusboi recommended The Cat Lady. @thearchkitty wholeheartedly recommended the otome game Bad Apple Wars, @camneliops80 and recommended Lake of Voices!

What an exciting month! Coming up in December is the doujin game Community Game-Along, dedicated to Japanese indie games! Check back in a couple days for the full introduction post, but in the meantime, you can check out my first doujin Game-Along post from 2014 for some game suggestions!

The post Horror Game Community Game-Along Roundup appeared first on Chic Pixel.

It’s that time of year… The time of year for gingerbread lattes, festive music, and holiday gift guides! I love doing yearly Chic Pixel gift guides because it gives me a chance to share a wide range of fun options for anyone looking for a unique gift for a nerdy friend. Each year I theme my guide slightly differently, and this year I decided to go for manga and video game-related picks!

Even if your giftee is not a huge manga aficionado, I have some great options to get them reading more manga if you want to show them what they’re missing out on! In terms of games, I’ve picked a few specific game suggestions and a whole lot of awesome merch, as well as more general items for people with lots of interests. I’ve rounded up 20 great choices for potential giftees, or even a special gift for yourself!

Finally, please note that this post is chock full of affiliate links. If you click on one of my affiliate links and purchase one or more items, I will get a small commission, even if it isn’t the item linked. It doesn’t cost you any extra and it really helps me out, so please consider doing your holiday shopping with my affiliate links! You can find my full list of affiliate links here.  Now, let’s dive into the 20 awesome gift ideas I’ve rounded up for this holiday!

1. A Classic Gamer Christmas sweatshirt (TeePublic) – Who doesn’t love a good “ugly” Christmas sweater? This video game pixel art Christmas sweatshirt will be sure to put a smile on anyone’s face! You can get the sweatshirt in many different base color options, or the design as a t-shirt, tank top, phone case, and more! Plus, all products from TeePublic are designed by independent artists!

2. Our Last Hope t-shirt (TeePublic) – This is the perfect gift for any Smash Bros. fan who is bound to already be getting the game! The design is based on the fact that Kirby is the last character left to go through the story mode, as seen in this Smash Bros. Ultimate trailer. Just like the Classic Gamer Christmas sweatshirt, the Our Last Hope design is available in a variety of other items such as a tote bag, mug, laptop case, or sweatshirt!

3. Mimikyu pin (Ugly Plants) – Ugly Plants has tons of adorable pins, t-shirts, plushies and more, both original and inspired by Pokémon! This Mimikyu pin would be perfect for any fan of the creepy-cute ghost Pokémon. Another favorite is this pastel bat pin… If your giftee loves all things kawaii, be sure to check out the Ugly Plants shop! Plus, all Chic Pixel readers can get 15% off a single order from now until December 19th with the code CHICPIXEL18! 

4. sweet pool (Jlist) – It’s hard to know what games people have and don’t have, but if you have a giftee that likes BL and horror, they’d probably love a physical copy of JAST Blue’s upcoming release sweet pool, which comes out just in time for Christmas! There’s even an amazing premium fan collection packed full of tons of goodies if you want to spring for something extra special, but keep in mind that it only comes with a download code for the game, not a physical copy.

5. Katamari Damacy Encore (CDJapan) – For another video game recommendation, might I suggest Katamari Damacy Encore, aka Reroll in English-speaking territories? The joy-filled PS2 game is back for a Nintendo Switch remaster, and if you preorder the Japanese version, you’ll even get an exclusive sticker sheet drawn by series creator Keita Takahashi! While I’m not sure whether or not the Japanese Switch version will feature English text (the game comes out in December), many recent Japanese Switch games that are also available in English do support English text, making them very import-friendly. Either way, the Japanese import would make a great gift for someone looking to practice their Japanese! Or, you can always pick up the English version.

6. Satoko and Nadia Volume 1 (Amazon) – If your giftee is looking for a feel-good story about people from different cultural backgrounds respecting each other and appreciating their differences, look no further than Satoko and Nadia. This manga, which was just released in English in October, tells the story of a Japanese exchange student in the US who has a new Saudi Arabian roommate. Their humorous daily life will be sure to put a smile on anyone’s face!

7. Claudine (Amazon, RightStuf) – Ryoko Ikeda, author of The Rose of Versailles, may be one of the most influential early shojo manga artists, but so far none of her classic works have been translated into English. That is, until now! Claudine is a single-volume manga about a trans man’s tragic life story told through his relationships with multiple women. Originally published in 1978, this manga represents an early example of a trans character depicted in shojo manga. Highly recommended as a gift to any manga fan, or a friend or loved one you would like to introduce to the wonderful world of manga!

8. Heart of Thomas (Amazon) – For a slightly different shojo manga recommendation, I highly suggest Heart of Thomas for anyone who might be interested in learning more about early boys’ love, or shōnen ai. Heart of Thomas is a highly influential shōnen ai manga from an era that went on to inspire many current shojo and boys’ love manga. Just like Claudine, this story is told in a single volume, meaning your giftee won’t need to worry about picking up more books to see the ending later on.

9. Sailor Moon Eternal Edition Volume 1 (Amazon) – There have been quite a few versions of the Sailor Moon manga published in English, but none is more gorgeous than Sailor Moon Eternal Edition! Not only does this edition feature an all-new translation, but it’s printed on high-quality paper in a larger format than regular manga. It’s a must for any Sailor Moon or shojo manga fan!

10. Final Fantasy Ultimania Archive Volume 2 (Amazon, Rightstuf) – The Final Fantasy Ultimania Archive series will be sure to thrill anyone who likes Final Fantasy games! Released this year for the first time ever in English, the Ultimania books provide a definitive guide to the world of Final Fantasy. Volume 2 contains Final Fantasy VII, VIII, and IX and comes out on December 18th.

11. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Creating a Champion Hero’s Edition (Amazon, RightStuf) – This massive, 400+ page book features an extensive look at the gorgeous world of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild The Hero’s Edition is a little on the pricey side at $90, but it comes with a fancy slipcase cover, cloth map of Hyrule, art print, and a glass replica of a spirit orb. Oh, and of course the book is chock full of concept art and illustrations from the hit game! If the Hero’s Edition is a bit too steep, the regular edition will only cost you about $25.

12.  NieR: Automata Long Story Short (Amazon, Rightstuf) – If your giftee feels a gaping hole in their heart after completing NieR: Automata, this book might be the for them. It generally recaps the plot of the game, but also ads some additional context from the point of view of the characters!

13. Legends of Localization Book 1: The Legend of Zelda (Fangamer) – The Legends of Localization series is the perfect gift for aspiring localizers or video game fans interested in the art of localization! The Legend of Zelda‘s localization is full of interesting tidbits that are all explored in-depth in this lovely book. Other Legends of Localization books include Earthbound, Press Start to Translate: This is What Happens When You Let a Computer Translate a Video Game?, and This Be Bad Book Translation, Video Games!.

14. The Game Console: A Photographic History from Atari to Xbox (Amazon) – This book would be the perfect coffee table book for any video game fan! It’s full of gorgeous photographs of nearly every console you can think of, providing an all-new perspective on your favorite video game consoles.

15. Splatoon 2 Aquabeads (AmiAmi) – This Aquabeads set may be a Japanese release, but as long as you can follow the template visual, you’re well on your way to doing this fun Splatoon 2 Aquabeads kit! It would even be a fun present for a Splatoon 2 player looking to practice their Japanese language skills while making some cute crafts.

16. Great Jagras Plush (AmiAmi) – Monster Hunter: World was a resounding success earlier this year, so it’s very likely you know someone who played it! For a fun little gift, why not try this fun (albiet slightly morbid) Great Jagras plush? There are other Monster Hunter: World plushies too, like this super cute Paolumu and Pukei-Pukei!

17. Muramasa Nekomata figure (CDJapan) – Muramasa: Demon Blade may be an older Vanillaware game, but they’re still making figures based on the gorgeous character art! This Nekomata figure is super detailed and quirky – perfect for a cat lover, Vanillaware fan, or figure collector looking for something a bit different for their collection!

18. Land of the Lustrous Phos figure (CDJapan) – Land of the Lustrous is one of my favorite anime and manga series of recent years. If you know someone who’s all caught up on the English manga releases that you’d like to get an extra special gift, why not this amazing Phos figure? It beautifully captures the other-wordly feel of the series’ art and is sure to impress!

19. Kingdom Hearts Sora Nendoroid (CDJapan, Rightstuf) – If you know someone who can’t wait for Kingdom Hearts III to come out in January, the Sora Nendoroid will make the perfect gift! He’s drop-dead adorable and comes out in December (note that at this point there isn’t a release date so it may not make it in time for all holidays). He’d also pair perfectly with the Riku Nendoroid that comes out in January!

20. Persona 5 Futaba Sakura Nendoroid (CDJapan, Rightstuf) – The Futaba Nendoroid also comes out in December (again, as of this post I can’t confirm the exact release date) and would make an awesome gift for anyone who enjoyed Persona 5. If you’d like something Persona 5-related that will definitely be available in time for Christmas, the rhythm game Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight comes out on December 4th!

I hope this list helps you with your holiday shopping! Remember, the most important thing this holiday season is to take care of yourself and others and letting the people in your life know you love them. Be sure to spread some joy, even if it isn’t through giving gifts that have monetary value. But if you do decide to buy some gifts thanks to this guide, I really appreciate it if you use my affiliate links. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful holiday!

The post 20 Holiday Gift Ideas for Video Game and Manga Fans appeared first on Chic Pixel.

It is with a mournful werewolf howl that we bid adieu to the Horror Game Community Game-Along and dive headfirst into one of my favorite Community Game-Along themes of the year: visual novels! November is the only month I can be certain I’ll participate in regardless of how busy I am, because I’ve always got at least one visual novel I’m chipping away at. At first it was a little harder to have a broad range of quality titles available to recommend in English, but with every year there are more and more amazing visual novels to choose from!

If this is your first month participating in a Community Game-Along, the rules are simple: All you need to do is pick a game that fits the theme and play it to join in the fun! Of course, no one will no you’re participating if you don’t share your impressions, so feel free to make ample use of the official hashtag #VNNovember (of course, you don’t need to share the fact that you’re participating if you don’t want to!). Around the middle of the next month I’ll share a roundup of the contributions here on Chic Pixel so everyone can see what folks got up to throughout the month.

I welcome all kinds of related content submissions, such as photos of your visual novel game collection, written reviews, podcast episodes, gameplay videos, and whatever else you can think of! Let’s make November a giant celebration of visual novel games!

If you’re stumped with what game to play, here are a few suggestions off the top of my noggin’! The Community Game-Along themes will return next year and I can already tell you that February will be dedicated to romance games/dating sims, so you may want to save your romance visual novels for then… But that’s entirely up to you! Be sure to check out my posts for the visual novel Community Game-Alongs in 2017 and 2015 for even more game ideas.

428: Shibuya Scramble (PS4, PC) – This highly-acclaimed Japanese mystery visual novel finally got an English release in September, so it’s the perfect game to play for the Community Game-Along! It combines video footage and photographs of real actors with traditional visual novel text-based descriptions and decision-making, and you play from the perspective of multiple different characters to unravel the mystery of a kidnapping in Shibuya. Be prepared for a lot of weirdness! For more info on 428: Shibuya Scramble, check out my podcast co-host Marcus’ review.

Heaven Will Be Mine (PC, Mac) – Do the words “queer science fiction mecha visual novel” strike your fancy? Well then Heaven Will Be Mine is the game for you! This game, by the creators of We Know the Devil (another great visual novel pick for this month), follows three female mecha pilots fighting for the future of humanity. You can choose to play from the perspective of any of the three protagonists!

Corpse Party: Book of Shadows ( PC, PSN for PSP/PS Vita) – The original Corpse Party game combined adventure gameplay with visual novel sequences, but the follow-up Book of Shadows removes pretty much all of the adventure elements for a more straightforward visual novel experience. If you’re sad the spooky Halloween season is over, you may want to extend the festivities with this horror title! Just be warned that you need to play the original Corpse Party game before jumping into this one.

Punchline (PS4, PS Vita) – I’ve heard good things about the Punchline anime, so if you enjoyed that or are into visual novels with an anime tie-in aspect, this recent localization might be up your alley! Apparently, the premise revolves around high school boy who causes an asteroid to destroy the earth every time he sees a girl’s panties, which may not be of interest to me… But I still figured it was worth mentioning for those that might be keen! If you’re not sure if the game is for you, you can always watch the anime first on Crunchyroll.

CUPID (PC, Mac) – This highly-rated visual novel combines elements of romance and horror for a very dark experience, and it’s entirely free to play! Set in 18th century France, this game is fairly unique for a visual novel as it plays out through a third-person perspective. Make decisions as Mother and watch the characters follow, or perhaps start to question, your commands…

The post November 2018 Community Game-Along: Visual Novels appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Now that I’ve been a fan of situation CDs/otome drama CDs for a few years, I can safely say there is a CD on practically any theme you can think of! And when I saw the amazing Halloween-themed cover for Amasu Toki no Kataribe ~ Halloween no Hi o Kimi Totomo ni (Spare-time Storyteller ~ Halloween Day with You), I knew I had to get my hands on it. Luckily, on a recent trip to Japan, I was able to find the special edition that comes with a picture book for a very good price at a Mandarake in Tokyo!

As the title and cover suggest, Amasu Toki no Kataribe ~ Halloween no Hi o Kimi Totomo ni takes place on Halloween. The adorable fellow on the CD cover is Yodoki, a mischevious ghost who lives in an old western-style mansion that just wants to play tricks on people. Unfortunately for him, no one can see him, so not only are his tricks going unnoticed, but he’s starting to get quite lonely.

When he sees everyone dressed up for Halloween, he ventures into town in hopes of finding someone to talk to. Of course, the one person that can hear him is none other than you, the listener!

Yodoki is played by voice actor Kōji Yusa, notable (to me, at least) for his work as Midōsuji from Yowamushi Pedal and Harada in the Hakuoki series. He did an amazing job as Yodoki – I particularly liked his playful nature early on. He has a bit of weirdness to him, befitting of a trickster ghost, that was particularly fun to listen to when he’s trying to get humans to pay attention to him (and the antics he gets up to when he knows people can’t hear him).

The special edition of the CD comes with this picture book, which adorably illustrates Yodoki’s story. I won’t spoil the full CD in case anyone reading wants to pick it up, but after Yodoki figures out that you, the listener, are able to hear him, he tells you a romantic story that is very obviously about his own past, and things go from there.

One disappointment for me was that he says he’s going to tell you a scary story too, but then the track just fades out! I assume this is because they don’t want to freak anyone out who just wants to listen to a cute boy talk to you in a Halloween drama CD, but I wouldn’t have minded a thematically-appropriate spooky tale, too.

Amasu Toki no Kataribe ~ Halloween no Hi o Kimi Totomo ni was released in 2014 and is 62 minutes total. I was quite impressed with the length despite preferring the first half of the CD to the second. The time honestly just flew by!

I’ll definitely be adding this CD to my annual Halloween media rotation, and highly recommend it to anyone interested in listening to a Halloween otome drama CD. The language level isn’t too difficult, but I would recommend it to at least intermediate Japanese learners and the flow of audio dramas can be a bit difficult to follow at times. If you can’t get your hands on the CD but want to look at more art by the artist who did the gorgeous cover and character design, I highly recommend checking out their Twitter!

The post Halloween Otome Drama CD Review appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Last month was the Stealth Game Community Game-Along, and that means it’s time for a roundup! After ever Community Game-Along, I round up the submissions from as many participants as possible so everyone can see what people played and maybe get some ideas for games to play in the future! You can also check out #StealthSeptember on Twitter to see everyone’s thoughts and submissions.

For September, @Westraid played Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain,  @Captain_N64 played Metal Gear Solid 3(D): Snake Eater, @kanonending played Thief, @Corvak played Mark of the Ninja, @SuperDarkMimeIV played Metal Gear Solid, @NikholaiChan played Metal Gear Survive. There was a lot of Metal Gear representation, which was especially timely since it was the 20th anniversary of Metal Gear Solid!

15th #FinishedGame of 2018 is #MetalGearSolidSnakeEater3D on #3DS and for #StealthSeptember on September 16th pic.twitter.com/1aK9SM8etm

— キャプテンN (@Captain_N64) September 19, 2018

Over at M Disk Playlist, the M Disk Gauntlet was back with Bonanza Bros. The footage for this month includes both commentary and non-commentary versions, so you can take your pick!

Let’s take a moment to admire this amazing infographic @Westraid made to summarize her time with Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain! I’m glad to see “petting DD” made up a solid 10% of Westraid’s playthrough.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Stealth Game Community Game-Along! For October, Chic Pixel is celebrating horror games (they can be actually scary or just spooky/Halloween-themed games), so be sure to join in before the end of the month! There are still 2 more months left of 2018 after that, so check the Game-Along schedule if you’d like to plan your game picks ahead of time.

The post Stealth Game Community Game-Along Roundup appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Happy Spooktober, everyone! It’s time for the return of one of my favorite Community Game-Along themes: horror games! Playing a horror game or spooky-themed title is a great way to get ready for one of the best holidays of the year: Halloween! I may not go trick or treating anymore, but I can still get in the spirit of the season with a creepy game!

To participate in the horror game Community Game-Along, pick a game that fits the theme and share your experiences on social media, your blog, your YouTube channel, or wherever else you like to put things out into the world! The official hashtag is #HorrorGameOct! As with every month, I will post a roundup of some of the submissions, and I RT as many of the tweets using the hashtag as I can on Twitter, so don’t be shy about contributing!

If you’re worried about participating because you don’t like scary games, that’s not a problem at all! There are lots of spoopy and Halloween-y games that aren’t going to make you want to sleep with the lights on. Read on for a few ideas to get  you started:

Angels of Death (PC, Switch) – This Japanese horror game, created in RPG Maker, has been on my mind because an anime adaptation just aired last season. There are even two manga adaptations, so I have to assume Angel of Death is pretty popular for an indie title! The story centers around a 13-year-old girl named Rachel who wakes up in the basement of an abandoned building with no memories of who she is or why she’s there. She soon finds herself stuck with a serial killer as they both try to find their way out of the building.

Castlevania Requiem (PS4) – Just in time for the horror Game Community Game-Along (more likely, Halloween), Konami is re-releasing two classic Castlevania games for the first time on PS4! Castlevania Requiem launches on October 26th and contains Symphony of the Night and Rondo of Blood. Rondo of Blood, in particular, is otherwise rather hard to play in English, so now’s a great chance to try it if you’ve never played it before!

Neighbor (PC) – This Japanese horror visual novel is a remake of a classic game, and was just released in English for the first time! You play female protagonist Yuuki Kae how has to find out what’s going on with the creepy things happening in her new apartment building. If you like Japanese horror, visual novels, or mature female protagonists, Neighbor might be worth checking out!

Luigi’s Mansion (GameCube, 3DS) – The perfect combo of spooky cute, the GameCube classic Luigi’s Mansion is being released on 3DS on the 12th! If you’ve already played the original, there’s always the sequel, Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon.

Of course, there are many many more spooky, horror, and Halloween-themed games out there! If you’re in need of more game suggestions, check out my posts from 2017 and 2014. Share your favorite horror games and what you’ll be playing this month in the comments!

The post October 2018 Community Game-Along: Horror Games appeared first on Chic Pixel.

This year, I followed up the always-busy JRPGJuly with an Action RPG Community Game-Along for August, and I’m glad to see so many people participated! Some folks even doubled up and picked a game for JPRGJuly that worked for ARPGAugust, which is a great idea! Read on to see what everyone played in August, and look forward to the October Community Game-Along post in just a few days! (If you want to start preparing now, the theme is horror games!)

Over at Tales of the Backlog, Capsulejay reviewed Ys Origin and Beyond Oasis, and Jakejames Lugo also reviewed Beyond Oasis over on his Youtube channel. At JRPG.moe, Griffin reviewed the Japan-exclusive Dreamcast game with a fun title, Napple Tale: Arsia in Dreamland. I’d never heard of this game before Griffin started playing it before ARPGAugust, but it looks super adorable and apparently the creative team was comprised of mostly women!

Chestnut at Gamer Girl Confessions played Diablo III, and Fullmetaldrippy reviewed Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix. Then, the M Disc Gauntlet returned with Secret of Evermore.

Okay, looks like #ARPGAugust gives me good reason to get to SMT Devil Summoner 2. It’s one of the few of my unplayed games I’d bought new..like ten years ago. No clue why I forgot, the first one is great fun.

Oh! And it came with a cute Jack Frost plushie, dressed as Raidou! pic.twitter.com/FCpiyXhmK4

— Hayley Winter (@driftglass) August 6, 2018

Meanwhile, @SweetieAshe played Ys VI, @Akrophin played Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, @cassiehalladay played Nights of Azure, @zhel played Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, @bunnycartoon played Bloodborne, @driftglass played Monster Hunter: World, @kaitou_al played Bioshock, and @daswhalebeard played Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

#SquadGoals #ARPGAugust pic.twitter.com/MObQOymtzO

— Simon (@sparrowtimes) August 17, 2018

Finally, I’d like to congratulate @sparrowtimes for finishing Bloodborne, @mdiskplaylist platinumed Bloodborne,  @felghanas beat Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and @charassic for completing Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom! Great job to everyone who completed their chosen games this month!

Thanks again to everyone who participated in August! Enjoy the last few days of StealthSeptember, and start gearing up for HorrorGameOctober!

The post Action RPG Community Game-Along Roundup appeared first on Chic Pixel.

When September rolls around, it’s time for the next year of Hobonichi Techo covers to go on sale! This year I decided to get a new Earthbound cover after using my 2017 cover for 2 years, and I couldn’t resist picking up a few extra goodies from the Hobonichi online store while I was at it! Check out my unboxing video to see my full haul:

If you prefer not to watch videos or would just like to see more photos of the fun goodies I got, you’re in luck!

I’ve already started using the Earthbound shitajiki (下敷き; pencil board) at the top right with my current Hobonichi! I was debating putting my new Earthbound cover on my 2018 Hobonichi, but I’m going to be good and save it for when I crack out my new Hobonichi at the end of the year. I can’t wait! The SMASH! folder freebies are a really cute bonus, too! (it came with three in total)

Here’s a close-up of the stamp design I got, which I will definitely be using sooner rather than later. Putting a Hobonichi stamp in my Hobonichi book is a little inception-like, don’t you think?

Here’s a closeup of the creepy bear thing that came free with my online order. Every year they have a special bonus item, and this toothy bear comes with all 2019 techo orders. He certainly has character! I will probably just keep him on my desk as a little desk buddy.

If you’re interested in the Hobonichi Techo “philosophy,” I highly recommend checking out this recent interview from Earthbound and Hobonichi creator Shigesato Itoi! He talks about how he originally was not a very heavy Hobonichi Techo user, but has started integrating it into every part of his life after observing how others use it. My own Hobonichi is really a catch-all planner, dairy, and notebook, so I’m all for this method! It’s also really cool to see someone involved in game development move to more “lifestyle” products such as planners.

You can view the full 2019 Hobonichi Techo lineup on their website. Will you be getting be getting one for next year? Let me know in the comments!

The post Hobonichi Techo 2019 Haul Video appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Otomate Party 2018 was held on September 8th and 9th this year, and with it came a slew of new otome game announcements! Otomate holds the yearly Otomate Party event to celebrate its recent and more popular titles with events featuring voice actors from the games and reveal some brand new games while they’re at it.

Following the company’s announcement earlier this year that they would be shifting focus to the Nintendo Switch, all console Otomate game announcements were for Switch, rather than PS Vita. I’m excited for more Switch otome games, but sad to see companies slowly dropping support for my beloved Vita! Luckily, there are still lots of otome games for the PS Vita being announced, like the Kenka Bancho Otome sequel, Kenka Bancho Otome 2nd Rumble!!.

Otomate, however, is all about the Nintendo Switch now. Watch the reveal trailer to see the whopping nine new titles and ports for the Switch at Otomate Party 2018 and read on for further explanations and impressions!

Gematsu posted a great breakdown in English of all the games at Otomate Party 2018, along with their individual trailers and details about which games are all-new announcements or previously-revealed titles with new footage. I won’t be commenting in-depth on every single game at the event, so be sure to check it out if you want further information.

The new Switch Otomate port announcements include Yunohana SPRING! ~Mellow Times~ for Nintendo Switch, Moujuutsukai to Ouji-sama ~Flower & Snow~ for Nintendo Switch, Hanayaka Nari, Waga Ichizoku Modern Nostalgie, and Hanayaka Nari, Waga Ichizoku Gentou Nostalgie, all due out in 2019 in Japan. Clock Zero ~Shuuen no Ichibyou~ Devote, also due in 2019, is a port of Clock Zero ~Shuuen no Ichibyou~ Extime for PS Vita with additional content such as stories from when the characters are younger, so it seems like Otomate is treating it as a larger release than some of the other ports (it got its own trailer, while the other titles mentioned did not).

I’m personally very excited for Moujuutsukai to Ouji-sama ~Flower & Snow~ for Nintendo Switch, as it’s one of my favorite otome games and I’m always happy for more people to have the chance to play it! Translated as Beastmaster and Prince, Moujuutsukai to Ouji-sama is the story of a girl training to be a beastmaster like her parents who suddenly stumbles upon four prince brothers who have been turned into animals by a curse intended to kill them. There’s even a petting minigame, which you know will be great on the Switch!

As for new titles, Olympia Soiree is coming to Switch from the staff behind Nil Admirari for PS Vita (no release window announced). Not much information about it has been revealed so far, but it takes place on an island where all is decided by the color you are born with, and the protagonist was born with the color white. The tagline suggests that it will have a  focus on myths/legends. All I know is the art looks gorgeous!

A new title that particularly caught my eye is Gensou Kissa Enchante, a gorgeous-looking otome game that features other-worldly men in a cafe setting coming to Switch sometime in 2019. Sign me up! The art is done by the same artist who did Tengai ni Mau, Iki na Hana and some many of the staff also worked on the Code: Realize games, so I’m hoping it’s good! (the Tengai ni Mau artist is known for working on games with pretty mean romance options, so here’s hoping that’s not the case again)

Of course, this wouldn’t be an Otomate event without some Diabolik Lovers news. Diabolik Lovers: Chaos Lineage, a game adaptation of the drama CD series of the same name, will also be coming to Switch next year. I still haven’t gotten into this series, so I can’t really comment on this one, but I’m sure there are a lot of folks excited for more sadistic vampires!

One of the games that I’ve been interested in hearing more about that we finally got some news on was Shiritsu Verbara Gakuen: Versailles no Bara Re*imagination, the Rose of Versailles high school AU. I have to say, after watching that trailer… I’m not sure how interested in the game I am. The selling point they’re pushing is that the protagonist is also named Oscar for some reason? The game is now due for release in 2019.

The last announcement that made my ears prick up isn’t for Nintendo Switch, but rather iOS/Android. The hit drama CD series Hypnosis Mic is getting a rhythm game titled Hypnosis Mic: Division Rap Battle next year, and this announcement was finally the push I needed to go learn what exactly this thing I’ve seen explode online the past couple months is all about.

Hypnosis Mic is really fascinating because it has characters voiced by 12 famous voice actors in four groups (known as divisions) of three members each, with each group representing a different region in the Tokyo area (Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, and Yokohama). The divisions then face off against each other in rap battles, with the CD releases either featuring songs for one division and an accompanying drama portion to flesh out the characters or rap battles between two divisions where songs for each division are then followed by a drama segment. I was pretty skeptical about the premise (Otome CD rap battles? Okay…), but I implore you to check out this initial promotional video for the series before writing it off:

Well, that video was all it took to turn me into a Hypnosis Mic (or HypMic for short) convert! I can’t wait to go out and grab some of the individual division CDs before the rhythm game releases next year!

What announcements from Otomate Party 2018 are you most excited about? Let me know in the comments!

The post Otomate Party 2018 Game Announcements and Impressions appeared first on Chic Pixel.

In honor of Metal Gear Solid‘s 20th anniversary, the Community Game-Along theme for September is stealth games! Okay, I wish I could take credit for that, but I actually had no idea September 2018 was the 20th anniversary of Metal Gear Solid! It is great timing though, isn’t it?

The stealth Community Game-Along was actually suggested by @Westraid at the end of last year, and I thought it was a great idea! If you’re new to the Chic Pixel Community Game-Alongs, they’re monthly themed gaming events where all you need to do to participate is play a game that fits the theme. For September, grab a stealth game and share your impressions using #StealthSeptember on social media!

Blog posts, let’s play videos, podcast, photos of your game collection, and any other submissions relevant to the theme are also welcome and may be shared in the roundup post at the end of the month! Here are some game ideas if you’re not sure what to play:

Metal Gear series (various platforms) – Of course, it wouldn’t be a month dedicated to stealth games (and the 20th anniversary of Metal Gear Solid) if I didn’t mention the Metal Gear series! The Metal Gear and Metal Gear Solid games are available for various platforms, but Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain might be the easiest to get hold of since it’s available for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Dishonored series (various platforms) – The Dishonored games are another great stealth choice! Dishonored, Dishonored 2, and Dishonored: Death of the Outsider have all been very well-received, and offer a variety of ways to eliminate targets so you can enjoy the games even if you’re not the best at stealth assassinations. Dishonored 2 even has a free demo you can check out for PC, PS4, and Xbox One!

Mark of the Ninja (various platforms) – If you’re looking for a 2D stealth game, check out Mark of the Ninja! It’s the first game on this list available for the Switch, too, and I know everyone is looking for more Switch games to play these days. Though it came out in 2012, it’s still considered one of the best modern stealth games! It’s also available for PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, and Xbox One, so it’s bound to be on a device you own.

Tenchu series (various platforms) – It wouldn’t be a stealth month without the Tenchu series! The most recent release is Tenchu: Shadow Assassins for Wii and PSP, which came out all the way back in 2009. But if you want to try a ninja stealth game from the developers who set the bar for the genre, it would be worth tracking down a Tenchu game! If you can’t get your hands on one, Shinobido is another ninja stealth series developed by Acquire.

What stealth game will you be playing this month? Share your pick in the comments! Feel free to offer other game suggestions, too!

The post September 2018 Community Game-Along: Stealth Games appeared first on Chic Pixel.

July marked the return of the JRPG Community Game-Along, aka JRPGJuly, and I dare say it was the biggest one yet! It’s taken me quite a while to sort through all the contributions. Phew! Unfortunately, I’m not able to include everyone, so I highly suggest scrolling through #JRPGJuly on Twitter to see the massive range of games played throughout the month. Read on for some highlights!

First, as always, I want to give a huge thanks to the folks at RPGamer for continuing to spread the good word about JRPGJuly. Many members of their staff participated this year, and they posted both podcasts and weekly roundups about everyone’s progress in their respective games. So cool!

Last day of July & I almost missed posting my #JRPGJuly pick. Started quite late but I’m now almost halfway through (I think..lolol) Atelier Lydie & Suelle! #JRPGJuly #AtelierLydieAndSuelle #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/85smxBXHWq

— ???? Athila.R ???? (@mykawaiitales) July 31, 2018

There were a ton of great blog and video submissions, as well!  Spokhette at Nerdette at Large published a list of 9 JRPG recommendations, the My Boxed Universe Blog contributed a Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom review, and Capsulejay from Tales of the Backlog reviewed everyone’s favorite Persona 4. Tales from the Backlog also completed Final Fantasy V for JRPGJuly and the Four Job Fiesta!

Griffin from JRPG.moe (props for the amazing URL) published a review of Star Ocean: The Second Story,  Jhipst3r Gamer published a post on Shin Megami Tensei, and the M Disk Gauntlet at M Disk Playlist made its triumphant return with Terranigma. Zack had some very kind words to say about the Community Game-Along events at the end of his playthrough, and I highly recommend taking the time to watch the four part series of this fascinating JRPG!

Better late than never – my contribution to #JRPGJuly ???? Bravely Second! Ft. the artbook and OST from the Collector’s Edition ????https://t.co/BZlnH4l1jN pic.twitter.com/SE5Wd6TOtG

— Tudz (@fuzzypickles_) July 28, 2018

Other great blog post contributions include Bryan at the Gay Gamer, who wrote about The Alliance Alive, and Cara at Rekifan, who published a lovely post about Rune Factory Frontier that makes me want to boot up a Rune Factory game immediately! Meanwhile, Electrobat of Electrobat Games wrote about her adorable Summoner in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. Yet another game I would love to go back to!

I’d also like to congratulate the following folks on completing their JRPG during the month: @bunnycartoon beat Persona 5, @Tanukitsune finished Ray Gigant, @Captain_N64 completed Valkyria Chronicles Remastered, @abyssviola completed Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance, @jscarpe beat Zwei: The Arges Adventure, @Ellzababoon beat Kingdom Hearts, and @WinterDisa finished Phantasy Star. Finally, @JRpotential completed Shin Megami Tensei Apocalypse after playing it since release!

Great job to everyone who finished their games this month! I know I’ve never completed a JRPG in one month before, so that’s a massive feat!

I got to the last chapter, but not quite through it for #JRPGJuly. So here’s Val Rev accidentally being topical lol pic.twitter.com/TkP7wc2v3G

— Scott Strichart (@TriggerRedd) August 1, 2018

Here’s just a sample of some of the other games played throughout the month! @shinhoshi_n played Dragon Quest V, @thegaygamer played Octopath Traveler,  @JRPGJungle played Ys VIII, @driftglass played Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, @dudleydoops played Miitopia @pass_the_milk played Xenoblade Chronicles 3D, @husbandohunter played Atelier Lydie and Suelle, @smileyuiop played Persona 4 Golden, @biswasOS played Pokemon Crystal, @Akrophin played Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, @winterdisa played Ys, and @ladyriven played Octopath Traveler.

What an amazing selection of games!

Feeling a Gust coming on for #JRPGJuly! ????pic.twitter.com/4jdWnAYpM1

— Morgan Sleeper (@zipmon) July 2, 2018

A last minute #JRPGJuly: Atelier Sophie looks really nice in 4k. pic.twitter.com/0nUuze2UJS

— The Old Gay Gristle Fest (@33mhz) July 31, 2018

Thanks so much to everyone who contributed this year! September has just started, and the Community Game-Along theme for the month is stealth games. If you enjoyed JRPGJuly, I hope you’ll participate in another Game-Along event, whether it’s this one, or one of the other upcoming themes!

The post JRPGJuly 2018 Roundup appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Wow, it’s been ages since I did a First Impressions post! My First Impressions series is pretty self-explanatory: basically, it serves as a chance to share my opinions on a thing (almost always a game) before I finish it and write a full review. This time, I want to talk about Tengai ni Mau, Iki na Hana (天涯に舞う、粋な花 or “refined flower, dancing on the horizon”), an otome game by Otomate that released back in April for the PlayStation Vita.

Tengai ni Mau, Iki na Hana was voted by my lovely Patreon supporters to be my import game review for April, and I was super excited to play it! That is, until it turned into one of the most frustrating otome games I’ve ever played…

Tengai ni Mau, Iki na Hana is essentially a soap opera that takes place in Taisho era Japan, which is the period at the beginning of the 20th century when Japan saw a lot of Western advancements and had a really fascinating fusion of Japanese and Western fashion, food, and culture. It’s a really great setting for an otome game and one that’s not seen super often, but unfortunately, it’s also included some of the more frustrating social norms of the time.

The plot centers around a restaurant named Yajima that was established during the Meiji period and thus operates in the traditional Japanese style: the owners maintain a very close relationship with their clients, who are all regulars and will often call geisha in to entertain them over long evenings of eating and drinking. Maintaining a high standard is of the utmost importance for the head of the restaurant, but unfortunately, the son set to inherit the establishment is a modern, business-minded man who would rather level it and build a hotel in its place.

The protagonist, a young woman named Ritsu Azumi (renamable), lives in the country and works for her own family-owned restaurant with dreams to run it herself one day. But because she’s a woman in Taisho era Japan, her fate is to be shipped off to live with whatever man she ends up marrying.  Enter her father’s meddlesome yet kindhearted friend and owner of the Yajima restaurant, who says that his eldest son Kousuke (the hotel-loving man pictured above) has an offer of marriage for her. After many hijinks that I won’t describe here, it’s revealed that Ritsu’s father’s friend just wants someone to come to take care of the Yajima restaurant because he doesn’t want Kousuke to inherit it and turn it into a hotel.

While it would be perfect for Ritsu to marry into this family so she can run their restaurant, neither her nor Kousuke want to marry one another (after all, they’ve never met, but arranged marriage was very common at the time). Ritsu goes to visit the Yajima household in order to decline the marriage proposal, but everyone there ends up mistaking her for a new maid. After some very weak protesting, she just kind of goes along with it and starts cooking and cleaning for the family. As you can probably tell, by this point the plot already had me pretty annoyed.

Oh, but all the romance options are five handsome brothers! (pictured above) Surely they will be the saving grace of this game that just drags the protagonist around… But no, they’re all complete jerks who treat Ritsu like garbage and constantly ask her to cook and clean for them without saying so much as “thanks.”

In addition to the five brothers, there are also two sisters and a wife, all who do not want anything to do with Ritsu and even actively try to sabotage her and get her to leave the house (more hijinks and whacky circumstances meant that she ended up staying overnight a couple of days). Eventually, her father’s friend convinces her to try running the Yajima restaurant, and instead of running for the hills because everyone is a complete jerk to her, she decides to try it out.

It all goes predictably poorly because no one wants to help her and actively wants her to fail, but Kousuke decides he’ll make a bet with her: if she can successfully run Yajima for one year, he won’t turn it into a hotel after all. If she can’t, he’s calling in the bulldozers. Ritsu is persuaded by her father’s friend (who, by the way, is dying of illness and thus very persuasive) to take Kousuke up on the bet, and thus we are introduced to the central plot point of the game.

I spent so much time trying to explain this game’s winding soap opera plot (I’ve left out a ton of details) that I don’t think I’ve made it clear just how obnoxious all the characters are, but rest assured that these are some of the worst romance options I’ve ever seen in an otome game. While Diabolik Lovers boys are mean, they’re at least kind of sexy about it (if you’re into that kind of thing), but these guys are all just rude for no reason with very few redeeming qualities (the chef, however, is the one exception).

The fact that all the characters are so mean and the protagonist inexplicably decides to continue to put up with them is the main reason why this game has been so unenjoyable for me so far. Otherwise, the art is gorgeous and the music is amazing – I just wish the plot and characters were even half as good as the presentation. I highly recommend watching this promo video to see how lovely it all looks and sounds:

Also, the common route is inexplicably long. I’m still in it. I think it’s this long because they need time to make this cast of awful guys seem redeemable enough for you to want to actually date them. Unfortunately, so far anything the guys have started to do to appear half decent is all because of the protagonist’s influence (except sweet chef boy, always pure and good), i.e. “for some reason when I’m around you I want to be better, but I don’t know why.”

In addition to the usual otome visual novel convention of choosing between text-based options to raise your affection with the different characters, Tengai ni Mau, Iki na Hana also has a couple mini-games that raise Ritsu’s skills in cooking, cleaning, and… astronomy (one of the brothers is an astronomer). These games are actually pretty fun and are a nice change of pace from constantly reading through text.

While I do see my enjoyment starting to increase incrementally as I play through the common route, it’s been a real slog so far. I want to at least play through one character’s route before reviewing it, but depending on how the first playthrough goes, that might be all I can handle. By the way, despite mentioning how sweet the chef boy is, I’ve decided to go for this handsome-looking jerk:

At the very least, I can see myself going back to do the chef’s route to see how the game treats an actual decent human being (I’m half expecting some big reveal that he’s actually the worst of the lot). I know it’s been taking me a long time to play through Tengai ni Mau, Iki na Hana, but I hope this sheds some light onto why that is! Thanks again to my wonderful patrons for making this and my other import game coverage possible!

The post First Impressions: Tengai ni Mau, Iki na Hana appeared first on Chic Pixel.

As more and more people are becoming interested in buying Nendoroids, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about where to buy authetic Nendoroids. Unfortunately, there are a lot of bootleg Nendoroids on the internet, and it can be confusing where to find official Nendoroids for a good price. That’s why I’ve rounded up 10 different places where you can buy authentic Nendoroids online! Read on for my personal recommendations to find which method will best suit your needs.

Good Smile Company – Good Smile Company’s official online store is generally more expensive than other options, but they sometimes offer exclusive bonuses that you’ll only get if you order your Nendoroid through them. There are also certain Nendoroids, such as the yearly Snow Miku Nendoroids, that can only be bought through Good Smile Company’s store. In my experience, their shipping can also be a bit slow, and they don’t offer any discounts on the Nendoroid prices, so I usually only use them for exclusives. Note that they only offer preorders and do not keep released Nendoroids in stock.

Ami Ami – Ami Ami is one of my favorite places to buy Nendoroids because they have great prices, offer preorders, and also have stock of released Nendoroids, both new and used. The major catch with Ami Ami is that they are very against cancelation of preorders, so you should only preorder from them if you’re 100% sure you’re not going to want to cancel your order in the future (they may blacklist you if you do). Like many of the other options on this list, they do not charge you for your preorder until it’s ready to ship if you use Paypal.

CDJapan – CDJapan is another one of my personal favorites! Like Ami Ami, they offer preorders as well as released Nendoroids, though they don’t offer used products. They’re slightly more expensive than Ami Ami, but still cheaper than Good Smile Company’s official store. They do, however, allow for cancelation of preorders at any time, so it’s great if you want to secure something in advance but leave the option to cancel later if you want to.

HobbyLink Japan – HobbyLink Japan is another solid option, and prices can be displayed in the currency of your choice. They also have some really great sales from time to time, so keep an eye out!

Plamoya – Plamoya is another great option if you’re having a hard time finding the Nendoroid you want, and all of their items are authentic from Japan. Their prices aren’t always as competitive as some of the other sites on this list, but they do have a fair number of sales.

Hobby Search – Another competitive option for your Nendoroid needs! They have a great newsletter you can subscribe to for weekly or daily updates for various products if you want to stay up to date on all the new releases.

Tokyo Otaku Mode – Tokyo Otaku Mode is different from a lot of the options on this list in that they have a US warehouse, so shipping may be cheaper on certain products if you live in the US. Their prices are a little higher, but they offer a nice cash back system in the form of reward points, and always have lots of different promotions going on such as extra points for preorders or bonus points during a certain period. Some items also have free shipping for first time customers!

Amazon (US, Japan) – Amazon can be a little iffy when it comes to Nendoroids, especially if you’re ordering from Amazon US. Depending on who’s fulfilling the order, you may end up with a bootleg. Luckily Amazon is generally good about handling complaints, so you should be able to get your money back if that’s the case. Amazon Japan, however, is a great option for authentic Nendoroids, and has stock of a lot of older releases, as well. Just make sure to check that they ship the Nendoroid you want outside of Japan or you’ll need to use a proxy service such as Tenso.

Mandarake – For second hand Nendoroids, my first stop is always Mandarake. Their site is a little hard to navigate as items are separated by physical store location, but if you’re looking for an older Nendoroid that you haven’t been able to find on some of the other sites on this list, Mandarake is definitely worth a look. Since everything is second hand, they don’t take preorders.

Yahoo Auctions – Yahoo Auctions is another option if you’re looking for an old release, but keep in mind that you will need to use a proxy service to ship the items outside of Japan. This can quickly get expensive when buying multiple items, but if you can’t find what you want at Mandarake, it’s bound to be on Yahoo Auctions!

Now go forth and buy Nendoroids! Keep in mind that these are just my personal recommendations, so there are undoubtedly many more places where you can buy authetic Nendoroids online that I didn’t include on this list. Your best option if you’re just starting out is to compare the prices of the Nendoroids and shipping cost on a couple of sites and understand their policies (particularly regarding cancelation of preorders) before making a decision.

If you’re still having trouble locating the Nendoroid you want, or would like help purchasing other products from Japan, please check out my Product Finding Service! 

The post Where to Buy Authentic Nendoroids appeared first on Chic Pixel.

I’ve been following PaletteMeli on Instagram for a while now, and I always love her adorable pastel designs! Which is why when I heard that she had opened preorders for a new Pokétreat pin series and extended the deadline when the preorder goal hadn’t been met, I knew I had to share it to help spread the word!

There are 3 pins available to preorder each featuring a different Pokémon and ice cream design: Clefary with macaron ice cream, an Oshawott ice cream cone, and a Pikachu and Eevee ice cream sandwich. Each pin is 1.5 inches, gold plated metal, hard enamel, and comes with a rubber backing.

My favorite of the three designs is the Clefary pin, but they’re all super adorable! You can grab one for $10 or the set of three for a discounted $25. PaletteMeli needs $1300 in preorder sales in order to make the pin, and if her goal isn’t reached by August 15th then everyone who has preordered will get a full refund. For more information, check out the official preorder page.

I love packing orders! ( ´ ▽ ` ) I’ve also decided to include a free Pokétreat sticker in orders from last week and for this week! A free sticker will also be included with all pre-ordered pins. Even if the pre-order goal is not met, you will still receive a free sticker! ????

A post shared by ʕっ° ᴥ ° ʔっ✎⁎｡ﾟ✧₊☆༚ (@palettemeli) on Jul 23, 2018 at 10:41pm PDT

I also want to mention that if you’re not following PaletteMeli on Instagram, I highly recommend doing so! She has an adorable feed with a great sense of composition and warm, happy colors that always bring me joy to look at. She also posts original art and fan art of games such as Persona 5, too! Be sure to check out the Pokétreat pin series before preorders close on August 15th if you’re interested!

The post PaletteMeli’s Summer Pokétreats Pin Preorders Open appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Just like a fast-paced action RPG, August is upon us! The monthly Community Game-Along events here at Chic Pixel continue on, with this month’s theme being none other than action RPGs, or ARPGs. I intended this to be a follow-up to JRPG July so folks could potentially start a JRPG that also happens to be an ARPG in July and finish it up in August, becuase I for one know I can’t finish a whole RPG in a month!

To participate in the Community Game-Along, all you have to do is play a game that fits the theme of the month. So pick up an ARPG and share your thoughts of your game using #ARPGAugust on social media! You’re also welcome to publish reviews, let’s play videos, podcasts, top 10 lists, or anything else you’d like as long as it pertains to action RPGs. Be sure to link back to this post and use the official hashtag so I can see it! Around the middle of the following month, I always do a roundup post of a sample of the submissions from the previous Game-Along, so check back to see if you’re featured!

Usually I like to give a selection of game suggestions along with descriptions of said games, but since this post is already a few days late, I’m just going to list out a few titles quicksmart to get you started! Ys: Memories of Celceta would be a great choice, and it just came out for PC last month (also available for PS Vita)! Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is the cover game of the month and can be played on the Nintendo Switch with out any knowledge of the previous Xenoblade Chronicles game. There’s also .hack//G.U. Last Recode, a recent remaster containing a whopping 3 games for PS4 and PC, and Tales of the Abyss for 3DS if you want something of the Nintendo handheld variety.

Sometimes there’s a fine line between action adventure and action RPG, but here at Chic Pixel I’m not going to turn away a submission if you have a good reason for wanting to include a certain game in the current Game-Along. That’s why for ARPG August you’re welcome to play the Yakuza games, such as Yakuza 6 for PS4, or the demo for Yakuza Kiwami 2 on PS4 (the full game launches August 28th!). The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild contains character progression in the form of stat increases, so that’s enough of the RPG in ARPG to count, too!

This month, I’ll be playing Dragon’s Crown Pro on PS4 co-op with my husband. Let me know what you’ll be playing for ARPG August in the comments!

The post August Community Game-Along: Action RPGs appeared first on Chic Pixel.

My latest video is a review of the gorgeous Animal Crossing: New Leaf 2DS XL that was just released in Australia, Europe, and Japan! I’d been looking to upgrade my Australian original model 3DS to a newer model, and I just could not pass up this adorable Animal Crossing design when it was announced. Watch the video below to hear my full impressions of the 2DS XL and how it compares to other 3DS models in my collection!

Of course, I couldn’t pass up the chance to take a few glamor shots of the system… Particularly a close-up of the amazing etching on the lid!

As I mentioned in the video, the plastic has a matte finish, not the glossy feel of the other 3DS models I own. I don’t know if that’s just for this Animal Crossing: New Leaf model or if all the 2DS’s plastic is like that… If you own one, I’d love to know!

In my review I said that the system felt a little like a toy, and upon further reflection I think it’s the matte finish on the plastic. For some reason that combined with the really light weight of the system reminds me of plastic toys, rather than a high-end technological device. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the design of this system and the matte finish is actually kind of neat just because it’s different, but I was surprised to find that I wished it actually had a little more heft to it.

If you’re looking for an extremely light 3DS system and don’t mind missing out on the 3D functionality, the 2DS XL is a fine choice. Personally, however, I prefer my New 3DS model for the overall form factor, and it’s probably still my favorite of all the 3DS models. But in terms of aesthetics, this Animal Crossing: New Leaf 2DS XL is by far the cutest! I’m super happy I was able to pick it up and look foward to playing some of my Australian games, like Sushi Striker: Way of the Sushido, on it soon.

The post Animal Crossing: New Leaf 2DS XL Video Review appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Usually for the Chic Pixel Community Game-Alongs I try to dedicate one post to each event’s roundup, but due to a couple months being a little light on the participation sprinkled with a little of my own personal negligence, I’m combining three for this post in order to catch up before the massive JRPGJuly roundup in a couple of weeks! Today I’ll be sharing some highlights from everyone who participated in the following themes: musou games, Manami Matsumae, and rhythm games.

Since the rhythm game Community Game-Along is the most fresh in everyone’s minds thanks to it taking place in June, I’ll be starting with that! It also, unsurprisingly, had the most participants of the three…

Wrapping up #RhythmGameMonth with my absolute favourite 3DS import: Theatrhythm Dragon Quest! ????pic.twitter.com/NYcVrA2t8j

— Morgan Sleeper (@zipmon) June 29, 2018

Capsulejay from Tales of the Backlog returned with yet another lovely review, this time of Crypt of the Necrodancer. Meanwhile, JRPG.moe provided some awesome coverage of the Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy arcade game that you can only play in Japan! I have a lot of fun playing this whenever I go to Japan. If you’ve never had a chance to experience it yourself, I highly recommend the JRPG.moe post!

Meanwhile, Morgan Sleeper reviewed the new rhythm game for Nintendo Switch, MUSYNX, over at Nintendo Life, and Westraid on Twitter got the platinum trophy in her import copy of Persona 3 Dancing Moon Night. Congratulations!

Joining #RhythmGameMonth with the recently released Persona 3 Dancing Moon Night!
♪ *⁽⁽ ◝(●´∀｀●)◟ ₎₎·* ♫ pic.twitter.com/yMkTpS0aK5

— 如意 ???? (@Westraid) June 2, 2018

M Disk Playlist continued the M Disk Gauntlet Community Game-Along tie-in series with a four-part video series on Audiosurf. He set specific goals for himself, which is a great idea since rhythm games can be so open-ended!

Some other games played for the rhythm game Community Game-Along included Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X, Idolish7, Superbeat Xonic, and Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone (I played this one, too!). So much rhythm game goodness!

Next up is the Manami Matsumae Community Game-Along, which took place in May.

#MatsumaeMay pic.twitter.com/u2q36qf4cc

— M Disk Playlist (@mdiskplaylist) May 2, 2018

For this month, we had two participants: the M Disk Playlist with Magic Sword (check out his post for both commentary and non-commentary playthrough videos!), and Capsulejay with Rainblocks.

April was the musou game Community Game-Along, full of hacking and slashing! M Disk Playlist faced his first crushing Gauntlet defeat with Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce, while Capsulejay reviewed Fire Emblem Warriors on the Switch.

Westraid worked her way through some grueling achievements in Dynasty Warriors 8 and made both a Twitter Moment and this amazing image to summarize the experience:

And that’s how #MusouMonth ended for me.
Even though I mostly did the same thing over and over, I still had fun.

Dynasty Warriors games may not be flawless, but they’re always really enjoyable for me ( ღ’ᴗ’ღ )
Here’s a scientifically accurate summary of my experience! pic.twitter.com/sNlxChAuoD

— 如意 ???? (@Westraid) April 30, 2018

Can I make a special request for more visual aids in future Community Game-Along events? That is amazing!

And with that, we’re caught up on all Community Game-Along roundup posts! Thanks to everyone who participated in April, May, and June’s events, and apologies for the delay in getting this post up! Rest assured that the JRPGJuly roundup will come in a much more timely manner. Happy gaming!

The post Community Game-Along Participation Roundup April-June appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Liar Princess and Blind Prince, or Usotsuki Hime to Moumoku Ouji, or is the latest in a line of small, quirky titles from developer Nippon Ichi Software. Similar to Yomawari: Night Alone or htoL#NiQ: The Firefly’s Diary, the game pairs a cute aesthetic with darker, sometimes downright morbid, themes. Thanks to the generous support of my Patreon members, I picked up the Switch version when it was released in Japan (along with the super cute smartphone stand in the header image) to review!

Liar Princess and Blind Prince is about the bond between a wolf monster and the human prince who loves her singing, but doesn’t know the melody is sung by a monster. One day, the prince tries to see who is behind the beautiful song, but the wolf is terrified of what might happen if a human sees her and lashes out at him. Her sharp claws strike his face, causing him to go blind.

Wracked by guilt from causing the prince to lose his eyesight, the wolf monster goes to a witch and asks for her help. In exchange for her singing voice, the wolf is granted the ability to transform into a human princess to escort the blind prince through the forest to the witch’s abode so that the witch might take pity on him and restore his eyesight.

Gameplay consists of guiding the prince through the forest while switching between the wolf’s monster form, which can kill enemies and jump higher, and her princess form, which can be used to guide the prince by hand and give him instructions. Each of the game’s handful of areas has a number of stages with various puzzles to guide the prince through.

For me, the gameplay wasn’t the highlight, though I did enjoy the fact that it overturned the usual premise of a boy guiding a helpless girl through dangerous terrain that we see all too often in video games. Rather, the art style, music, and bittersweet fairytale story were the true standouts, and are the reasons why I will most certainly consider Liar Princess and Blind Prince one of my favorite games of 2018.

The story sequences are all narrated by a single female voice actor, who both tells the story and voices all of the characters in the game. This is combined with static images and the simulation of pages being turned to really give it a storybook effect. Some of the darker aspects of the narrative, which I won’t reveal here, made it really feel like a proper Grimm tale (not the watered-down Disney versions).

And the music! Due to the length of the game (I completed it in 6 hours) there aren’t a ton of different tracks, but they were all delightful and fitting with the dark, whimsical vibe of the game. I’ve recorded about 10 minutes of me playing through some of the second area of the game so you can have a get a taste of the music and visuals together with the gameplay – I highly recommend checking it out if you’re interested!

There are some collectables in the form of flower petals, which unlock art from the game, along with a hidden flower in each area for the wolf to give the prince. The puzzles aren’t particularly hard for the most part, but if you do find yourself stuck there is a skip stage option that unlocks after you spend a certain amount of time in an area. Don’t worry, this won’t skip the story sequences, so you can rest assured that you’ll still be able to experience the main appeal of the game.

I absolutely adored Liar Princess and Blind Prince, but it’s not without some issues. The gameplay itself isn’t particularly polished, as evidenced by numerous occasions where the princess would die in extremely unpredictable ways – for example, I still don’t know exactly what height the princess and prince can fall from and survive. There were also multiple times that I would get squished by something that looked like I clearly avoided, but luckily the checkpoints are numerous enough that you never have to retrace your steps very far. However, glitches and oddities in the gameplay were frequent enough that it did frustrate me, and while I never used the stage skip function, there were times I came very close simply because I was about to pull my hair out from trying to work with the game.

Ultimately, I was so enamored by the rest of Liar Princess and Blind Prince that I still look upon the experience fondly, despite a few flaws. The ending sequence was particularly moving, and even though I completed the game a month ago I still find myself thinking about it and talking about it with my husband (who watched me play through the whole thing, and for the record, he loved it too!). It would be a great game for Japanese language learners, as the language used is not particularly difficult, but it should be noted that there a couple puzzles that do require reading comprehension to understand (though you could skip them). If you don’t want to import it, I hope you’ll consider picking it up for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, or PS Vita when it’s localized, because it’s a beautiful experience that I fear will be overshadowed by more mainstream titles.

The post Liar Princess and Blind Prince Review appeared first on Chic Pixel.

This year’s Anime Expo has been especially exciting for BL (boys’ love) game fans. So far, there have been English localization announcements for not one, but five BL games! JAST Blue, JAST USA’s BL label, will be localizing Nitro+CHiRAL’s entire library, including their upcoming release Slow Damage. Meanwhile, MangaGamer has announced they will be localizing Luckydog1, a BL game about members of the mafia.

JAST Blue’s Nitro+CHiRAL game acquisition announcements come after they revealed earlier this year that they would be releasing Sweet Pool, Nitro+CHiRAL’s dark horror BL game, in English for PC. Sweet Pool is celebrating its 9th anniversary in Japan and just received a PS Vita port (with the erotic content from the PC version removed), so it’s likely Nitro+CHiRAL wanted it to come first due to their current focus on the game.

The rest of Nitro+CHiRAL’s library was confirmed to be also coming out in English at the JAST Blue panel at Anime Expo this past Wednesday. This includes Togainu no Chi, Lamento -Beyond the Void-, DRAMAtical Murder, and the upcoming Slow Damage (note: Slow Damage was not mentioned on the JAST Blue Twitter account, but it appeared a flier). DRAMAtical Murder in particular has been a highly-requested game by BL fans for many years, so this news extremely exciting!

Meanwhile, the folks at MangaGamer announced at their Anime Expo panel that they’ll be localizing Luckydog1, a BL game for PC about members of the mafia in 1930s America. I recently started playing the Japanese PS Vita port of Luckydog1, and I have to say snarky protagonist Gian is one of my favorite BL protagonists in a while! I actually like him so much I bought a PC fan disc and drama CD for the game during my last trip to Japan, despite the fact that I haven’t even finished the game yet!

There is a DRAMAtical Murder anime available on Crunchyroll if you absolutely can’t wait to learn more about the game, but it really pales in comparison to the game itself. If you’re dying to play Sweet Pool, however, you may want to check out the two-volume manga that is available in English from SuBLime to get an idea of what kind of game it is (warning: not for the faint-hearted).

Which of these BL game localization announcements are you most excited for? I’m thrilled about all of them, but especially excited that more people will finally be able to play DRAMAtical Murder legally in English!

A big thanks to @vanishingage for helping me source images for this post!
Disclaimer: I have worked with JAST Blue as a consultant on marketing for Sweet Pool. 

The post More Nitro+CHiRAL BL Games and Luckydog1 English Releases Announced appeared first on Chic Pixel.

Happy JRPGJuly! Every year for the past 4 years I’ve made July’s Community Game-Along theme JRPGs, and its quickly grown to be the most popular monthly event I run!

To participate, simply use the hashtag #JRPGJuly to post impressions of the JRPGs you’re playing, photos of your game collection, or anything else JRPG-related to be featured in the roundup post once the month’s theme is finished! I love to see all kinds of submissions, from blog posts, reviews, let’s plays, podcasts, or whatever else you can come up with, so don’t feel like you need to be limited to posting impressions on social media!

What exactly counts as a JRPG? The “J” stands for “Japanese,” so in essence, a JRPG is any RPG made in Japan. Over the years, people have identified certain notable qualities of RPGs produced in Japan, such as turn-based battles, protagonists with developed personalities and backstories (as opposed to blank slates for the player to meld as they like), etc. For the purpose of JRPGJuly, though, any RPG made in Japan or any RPG that seems to have been influenced by Japanese RPGs (such as Undertale) counts! When in doubt, feel free to ask, but the important thing about JRPGJuly is to celebrate games, so if you have a good reason to play the game you want to play, I say go for it!

If you can’t decide what to play this month, here are a few 2018 JRPG releases you might want to consider. And if you have limited free time and want to kill two birds with one stone, you can grab an action RPG that’s also a JRPG and start it this month, because next month’s theme is action RPGs!

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux (3DS) – Strange Journey Redux is a remake of the sci-fi first person dungeon crawler Strange Journey for the DS. It introduces new characters, new demons, new animations, and more, so there’s plenty new even if you’ve played the original! If you like classic Shin Megami Tensei dungeon crawlers or think having the ability to chat with demons to get them to join your party sounds pretty rad, you might want to check Strange Journey Redux out!

Octopath Traveler (Switch) – Square Enix’s latest RPG is a return to more classic visuals and turn-based gameplay, but with some more modern twists. There are eight different characters to play as, each with their own gameplay style and story, that will all eventually come together in one grand narrative. If you liked the Bravely Default games, some of the same team worked on Octopath Traveler, so keep an eye out for it when it releases on July 13th! In the meantime, there are 2 demos on the Switch to get you started.

Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (PS4, PC) – Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is the long-awaited return to the series after Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch for PS3 charmed many with its gorgeous Studio Ghibli visuals and Joe Hisaishi soundtrack (did you know there’s a Japan-only DS version of the game, too?). Ni no Kuni II has an action-based combat system, so it would also count for ARPGAugust! You can read my full impressions in my review over at ReadySet.

Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings (PS4, Switch, PC) – I love how colorful and happy the Atelier games are, so I can’t miss the chance to recommend the latest game in the series. Atelier Lydie & Suelle is the first Atelier title to be released for the Nintendo Switch, and though I haven’t played Atelier Firis or this title yet, I’ve heard Lydie & Suelle fixes some of the problems fans had with the alchemy system in Firis. If you’re looking for a more relaxing game for JRPGJuly, this would be a great choice!

I love seeing all the JRPGs people pick to play, from classics like Chrono Trigger to more recent releases like Persona 5. Even the folks at RPGamer get involved – check out their intro post to see what their staff will be playing!

What will you be playing this month? Let me know in the comments! If I have a chance, I’m planning to finally start Persona 5!

Support Chic Pixel directly and get access to lots of cool behind-the-scenes stuff by becoming a member of my Patreon for as low as $1/month! 

The post July 2018 Community Game-Along: JRPGs appeared first on Chic Pixel.

The new Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card anime means there’s a ton of new Cardcaptor Sakura events and merchandise, and I’m all for it! Currently there’s a Sakura and Tomoyo Flower Garden Cafe being held at Sweets Paradise locations throughout Japan through the end of July. Cardcaptor Sakura art is always gorgeous, but the flower garden and sweets theme makes this collaboration extra adorable!

Sweets Paradise is a chain of all-you-can-eat dessert restaurants, where you pay 1500 yen (about $15) to eat as many sweets as you like for a set period of time (I believe it’s 90 minutes, but I haven’t been in ages!). They have seasonal menus as well as salads, pastas, and all kinds of drinks, so you don’t necessarily have to overload on sugary food.

The special Cardcaptor Sakura Flower Garden Cafe menu is separate from the usual Sweets Paradise menu, and costs an extra 650 yen (about $6.50) on top of the 1500 yen fee to enter. Your 650 yen purchase gets you one food item and one drink item from the special collaboration menu.

I love how some of the food items are listed with pictures of the food in the anime on the menu! You can even order drinks themed after different characters, or a latte featuring a random design (pictured at the bottom right). If I were in Japan right now, I’d totally order the pink Sakura’s outing crepe at the top right, and Sakura and Tomoyo’s flower garden drink at the bottom left. They look so cute!

Customers receive one random coaster with their first order, and an additional coaster with every drink order!

Of course, it wouldn’t be a cafe collaboration without a bunch of limited-edition merchandise to purchase. The first round of Cardcaptor Sakura Flower Garden Cafe merchandise includes random buttons and acrylic keychains, clear files, two different mug designs, hair ties, cocktail stirrers, and an apron! Normally it’s quite hard to get limited cafe items if you don’t live in Japan, but Aitai Kuji has all of them available online to purchase!

Aitai Kuji was kind enough to send me a few of the items for this post, including this adorable Sakura and Tomoyo mug! I just love the flower design! The alternate group design is really cute, too.

I hate when mugs have really nice art on one side, but nothing on the other side. That’s why I was thrilled to see the Flower Garden Cafe mugs have a pattern all the way around!

Aitai Kuji also sent me 3 random acrylic keychains, which I’m super into right now. They look so neat when you put them together! Since they’re random, I ended up with two Syaorans, but I’m totally okay with that because I got Yue! Yue/Yukito is my favorite!

And since I have an extra Syaoran, I’m going to give him away to a lucky reader! Read to the end of this post on details on how to enter!

Here’s what the Yue keychain looks like in the base. You can either use it as a keychain or take the chain off and display it as an acrylic stand! Acrylic stands are great to display on a desk or shelf, and I also really like taking photos with them.

The final item Aitai Kuji sent me was this sealing wand cocktail stirrer, which you could use to stir any kind of drink, but I feel like I’m obligated to make a cool Sakura-themed cocktail now! Why have a boring, plain stirrer when you can have one that looks like Sakura’s sealing wand?!

If you miss your chance to grab the Flower Garden Cafe items, Aitai Kuji is always listing new limited collaboration items for sale on their site! If you’re willing to spend a little more time hunting down individual items on resale sites such as Mandarake or Yahoo Auctions, you can find collaboration goods for pretty cheap, but Aitai Kuji makes it very easy to find exactly what you want from a wide range of events, all in English. Everything shipped promptly and was packaged nicely, too!

Now, if you’re interested in winning my extra Cardcaptor Sakura Flower Garden Cafe Syaoran acrylic stand, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post saying what your favorite piece of merchandise is from this collaboration! The giveaway is open worldwide until July 15th at 9 pm EST, after which I will randomly select a winner from the eligible comments. Good luck!

The post Cardcaptor Sakura Flower Garden Cafe (+ Giveaway!) appeared first on Chic Pixel.

If you find yourself in Harajuku, I urge you to visit Reissue, a café that has some of the best latte art I’ve ever seen! I went during my trip to Tokyo in December on the recommendation of a friend, and was not disappointed. The barista will make any request into 2D or 3D latte art that is almost too awesome to drink!

Reissue is located on a side street in Harajuku on the second floor of a building, so it’s a little bit hard to find. Just keep an eye out for the sign on the street! Walk up a set of stairs and you’ll be greeted by a cozy, warm café.

When my husband and I tried to go the first time, we were on a tight schedule and there was a 30 minute wait (we went around 1 pm on a Sunday), so we came back around 10:30 on a weekday (they open at 10 am). Unfortunately, they don’t take latte art orders until 11 am, so keep that in mind if you’re trying to get in early to beat the crowd! Each person that visits the café is required to order something, too, so you can’t have a table of two and only order one item.

The wall by the stairs you enter from had all kinds of fun things to look at, including photos of past latte art designs and items for sale. Be sure to read to the end of the post to see what souvenirs I bought!

The drinks generally run around 600 yen each, with an additional 400 yen charge for art, so one latte art drink will cost you about $10 total. The menu has both Japanese and English text, and you can either tell the staff the design you want (don’t forget to specify 2D or 3D!) or show them a picture of the person, character, or whatever else you want immortalized in latte foam. Don’t be shy to get wild with your design ideas – just check out the latte artist’s Twitter to see all the different designs he’s done in the past!

I opted for a 3D shiba inu in honor of Pai Pai, and my husband ordered a 3D Moogle latte because he loves Final Fantasy. The barista even tweeted an adorable gif of his Moogle before sending it off to our table! If you’re lucky, he might tweet about your order, too!

Of course, the lattes were unbelievably cute. It’s really impressive how the barista is able to take nearly any character and transform it into a cute latte. And the coffee was lovely, too! If you’re not a fan of Japanese coffee this probably won’t change your mind (many people find it weak), but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

We also grabbed lunch while we were there, which was reasonably priced and also very tasty. While I would recommend Reissue for the latte art first, don’t shy away from ordering some food if you’re hungry when you arrive, too!

On the way out, I was lucky enough to have a quick chat with the barista and watch him make another customer’s latte. He keeps his phone over his work station to pull up an image of the design he’s making to refer to as he’s creating it. I still can’t believe it’s all done with foam, and no artificial colors! He also mentioned that they recently have been having an influx of Australian customers. I guess word is getting around!

Reissue also happens to have a really cute logo of a rabbit in a coffee cup, so I had to grab a pin and washi tape featuring the adorable design to commemorate the trip!

If you’re a fan of adorable latte art, I highly recommend putting Reissue on your list if you have a day to visit Harajuku. It may only take you a few minutes to drink the latte, but the adorable photos will last a lifetime!

The post Reissue Latte Art Cafe in Harajuku appeared first on Chic Pixel.

I hope you liked my GBA game collection video! It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I really like the Fushigi no Kuni no Angelique box art and the fact that it comes with stickers in the manual. It’s such a cool detail!

I actually wrote about my GBA game collection back in 2011 – it’s pretty embarrassing, both because of the lack of games and the style of writing I had back in 2011, but it’s fun to see how my collection has grown since then. Do you have any game-related collections? Let me know in the comments below!

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