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Category Archives: community event

Celebrating the Second Annual MonMonth!

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The Monster Hunter Community Game-Along is back! First held last March for Monster Hunter’s 10th anniversary, this Game-Along was by far one of the most popular themes of the year, and effectively got more than one person (including myself) completely and utterly obsessed with the series! How could I do another year of Community Game-Alongs and not include it?!

What’s more, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate just launched in English last month, meaning a good number of you are probably already playing a Monster Hunter game! Let #MonMonth be an opportunity to go online with fellow hunters, or just swap tips and achievements using the hashtag… You can also add your name and friend code to the Monster Hunter Google Doc master list and make some new hunting pals! 

If you’re someone who’s never been able to get into the series, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is by far the best place to start. But, if you’re not interested in Monster Hunter, MonMonth is about all Monster Hunter-like games, so there might be another title in the genre that strikes your fancy.

Head over to the original Monster Hunter Community Game-Along post for some alternative game suggestions. For folks who like to import, you may want to try God Eater 2: Rage Burst, which also released last month.

I hope to play Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate with some of you in the upcoming weeks!

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February 2015 is From Software Month!

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Happy February! Due to some release date announcements I’ve decided to shuffle around the Community Game-Along schedule slightly, making this the month to celebrate all games developed by From Software. I dub thee… Frombruary! 

From Software is best well known for their recent success with the Souls series, comprising of Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, and Dark Souls II. With their upcoming game, Bloodborne, releasing worldwide late March, now is a great time to replay some old favorites or check out a new game or two from this iconic Japanese developer! 
This month, we’ll be using #Frombruary to chronicle our various journeys on social media, but, as always, you are more than welcome (and heartily encouraged!) to write long form blog posts, post gameplay videos, or even just show of your From Software game collection using the hashtag. The only rule of the Community Game-Along is to pick a game that fits the theme, play it, and share your experiences, so feel free to do so in whatever way you wish! 
As always, here are a few game suggestions to get you started: 
Armored Core series (various systems) – If you’re a fan of From Software, there are probably three names you’re very familiar with: Demon’s Souls, King’s Field, and Armored Core. While I’d highly suggest tracking down a King’s Field game if you’re a fan of Souls and want to continue the “hardcore RPG” theme, they’re rather difficult to get hold of, so instead I’ll suggest their other major series, Armored Core. For fans of mecha, Armored Core is a must try, though it has a very heavy tactical bent and is notoriously tough to get into (much like FromSoft’s other titles…). The most recent title in the series is Armored Core: Verdict Day and is available on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but it’s worth noting that the more recent games have a very strong multiplayer focus. 
Enchanted Arms (PS3, Xbox 360) – From Software has also released a few non-King’s Field RPGs such as Evergrace, Eternal Ring, and Enchanted Arms. Aside from all starting with the letter “e,” these games came out early in their console’s life cycle and can generally be found relatively easily and cheaply. Enchanted Arms may be the easiest to play nowadays, considering it was released on last-gen systems, which is why I’m including it on the list. 
The sci-fi/fantasy RPG received lukewarm reviews but certainly has its fans, and while the art style may turn some off, it has a character with a pizza for a head in it, so it can’t be all that bad. 
The Adventures of Cookie & Cream (PS2, DS) – Cookie & Cream might be the oddest game in From Software’s library, simply because it’s so different from their other titles. The multiplayer action/adventure titles features two adorable rabbits that can be controlled separately by two players using the same controller if so desired. Not only that, but the Japanese box art is brilliant! Don’t you agree? 
If you don’t have a PS2 on hand, there is a port available on the DS, as well as a downloadable version on PSN for PS3. Even if you don’t have a friend to rope into playing with you, you can still play both Cookie and Cream in the single player story mode, so there’s no reason not to try this one out! 
Echo Night (PSone, PS2) – If you’re looking for a bit of a spook, the Echo Night series might be more up your alley. While unfortunately none of the games in the series are available digitally, their unique take on first person survival horror where the player has absolutely no weapons makes it an absolute must for fans of the genre. I wish I had more to say about this series, but unfortunately I don’t know all that much about it, so suffice it to say you should pick one up and let everyone know how it is! 
Normally I have a game in mind for each month well before they’ve started, but I must admit that I’m not much of a FromSoft connoisseur. Imagine my surprise when I found out they also developed Monster Hunter Nikki: Poka Poka Airou Mura! I’ve been meaning to give my copy a go, and what better excuse than to play it for this month’s theme? 
Let us know what you’ll be playing for Frombruary in the comments!  
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January 2015 is Rhythm Month!

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Happy New Year, everyone! As you probably saw in my previous post, the monthly Community Game-Alongs are continuing into 2015, and we’re ringing in the new year with rhythm games! Even if you don’t have a rhythmic bone in your body, it’s hard not to enjoy the likes of Dance Dance Revolution, Samba de Amigo, Rhythm Heaven, Just Dance, or Groove Coaster. And no matter what kind of music you enjoy, there’s a rhythm game for nearly everyone!

Thanks to Marcus of Pixel Pacas for the lovely photo of some of the rhythm games
in his collection!

To participate in the rhythm game Community Game-Along, all you have to do is a pick up a rhythm game, play it, and share your experiences! I love to see long-form reviews or impressions either in written, podcast, or video form, but as always, you can also use #RhythmMonth to share your rhythm game playthroughs with other participants on social media. Whether it’s a rhythm game you’re going back to for the first time in years, or a new one you’ve only just picked up, I want to hear your impressions!

There are so many different kinds of rhythm games out there that it’s hard to even know where to go with recommendations, but here are a few titles to get you started:

Vib Ribbon (PSone, PSN) – Who would have thought that in 2014 we would finally see cult PSone hit Vib Ribbon release in North America? After unintentionally teasing the game at E3 (apparently someone forgot it was only released in Europe!), Sony actually responded to fan demand and released the game on PSN for Vita and PS3 in October.

With its deceptively simple gameplay and unique music and art direction, Vib Ribbon is definitely a must-play if you’re one of the many North Americans who never had a chance to experience it before now. You can even use the CD reader function on the PS3 version to create unique levels out of your own tunes!

Rhythm Heaven series (GBA, DS, Wii) – I will never stop championing the Rhythm Heaven series, which consists of three amazing rhythm games that never quite got the attention they deserved. While Rhythm Tengoku for GBA was never released in English, rhythm games are one of the few game genres that are extremely easy to import, making it a great title to pick up if you’re looking to try out a game in Japanese.

Some folks ultimately prefer the simple one button gameplay of Rhythm Heaven Fever on the Wii, but the portability of the DS version makes it another great pick, even with the tap-flick mechanic. Which version you like best is ultimately up to personal preference, though, as each game has its strengths, making any one of them a great place to start.

DJ Max Technika Tune (Vita) – DJ Max Technika Tune is one Vita rhythm game that I think has been sorely overlooked, and the fact that physical copies are extremely difficult to find doesn’t help matters (though it’s also available on PSN). If you’re a DJ Max fan, picking this one up should be a no-brainer, but for those unfamiliar with the series, the touch controls on the Vita make it a hectic and fun twist on the rhythm formula. Unlike many rhythm games that originate in Japan and thus feature Japanese music, the DJ Max series showcases mostly Korean tracks, making it a great pick for K-pop fans.

[An honorable overlooked Vita rhythm game mention goes to Magical Beat, an awesome, bite-sized rhythm puzzle game by the folks who do Guilty Gear and BlazBlue!]

Love Live! School Idol Festival (iOS, Android) – I’ll admit, I’m not even exactly sure what Love Live! is. I know it’s an anime and multiple games about an idol group comprised of high school girls, but that’s about the extent of my knowledge. Regardless of my feelings on the franchise, it’s massively popular in Japan, and is gaining even more popularity abroad with the launch of the smartphone game. And apparently, it has a pretty decent rhythm component! So, since I know probably 80% of the people reading this already play it daily, this is your reminder that it totally qualifies for Rhythm Month. If you haven’t checked it out already, the game is completely free to play, so it wouldn’t hurt to give it a whirl.

This month I’ll be dividing my time between the aforementioned Love Live! (I need to know why everyone on Twitter is playing it!), Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd, and some Japanese PSP games such as Pop’n Music Portable 2 and Uta no Prince-sama Music 2. Hopefully I’ll be able to churn out at least one or two write-ups this month, since I was very negligent on that front towards the end of last year! What will you be playing?

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The Complete 2015 Community Game-Along Schedule

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Back in December 2013, I had no idea that a casual conversation with Kimimi on Twitter about how we wanted to play more Falcom games would quickly evolve into a month-long themed game event that centered around encouraging people to play more games in their backlog/”to play” list. Falcom Month was so well received that I decided to take the plunge and do a different gaming theme every month for all of 2014, and now, thanks to everyone’s support, I’m continuing it into 2015!

Credit goes to Kimimi for the lovely image to go with this post! Can you guess what theme
each game corresponds to? 

Last year I pretty much planned every month as I went along, which didn’t do me any organizational favors, so this year I’ve gone ahead and picked every theme ahead of time! If you’re curious as to what’s on the horizon or would like to plan your game playthroughs/purchases, the full list is below. But, if you’d like to keep upcoming themes a surprise, exit out of this page now and be sure to follow me on Twitter to get the announcement for the upcoming month’s theme at the beginning of the last full week of every month.

Oh, and to bring in 2015 with bells and whistles, January will be dedicated to rhythm games (#rhythmmonth)! This was the most requested theme in my survey, so I hope a lot of people participate! A full rundown post in the usual Community Game-Along style will be coming shortly.

January – Rhythm games
February – Visual novels From Software
March – From Software Monster Hunter-likes
April – Yuji Naka
May – Monster Hunter-likes Visual novels
June – Fighting games
July – JRPGs
August – Point and click adventure
September – Spike Chunsoft
October – Kusoge
November – Natsume
December – Yoko Shimomura

[Update 1/18: Shuffled around February, March, and May themes]

Chime in with your thoughts on the different themes in the comments! I hope you have at least a couple to look forward to this year. I know I do!

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Announcing the Doujin Community Game-Along

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I can’t believe the first year of Community Game-Alongs is nearly over! I say “first year” because thanks to the amazingly positive reception my Game-Along survey has had so far, I’ll be continuing these themed gaming months through 2015! The survey is still available to fill out if you’d like to add some theme ideas to the pile, but I’m really happy to hear that everyone has enjoyed these enough to want another full year of them.

Anyway, to close out 2014, I thought it would be fun to celebrate a niche of games that is steadily gaining more traction outside of Japan, but still very much underrepresented. Doujin games are basically the Japanese equivalent of indie or fan games, but unlike the western indie scene, it is still an underground movement in many ways. On occasion, Japanese doujin titles such as Touhou Project or Cave Story gain enough popularity to break into mainstream outlets, but many only ever see release on PC in alternative distribution venues such as fan conventions.

Luckily, thanks to companies such as Playism, Nyu Media, Carpe Fulgur, and the recent Sekai Project, it’s easier than ever to play a wide range of doujin titles in English! While most doujin games are unfortunately PC-only, they’re generally not very demanding and can be run on nearly any computer, and some more popular titles get revamped for other systems, such as La-Mulana or Corpse Party.

I’m sure everyone knows the drill by now, but for those new to Chic Pixel Community Game-Alongs, all you need to do to participate is pick a game that fits the theme and play it during the month of December! Of course, be sure to share your experiences and impressions using #DoujinDecember on social media.

A lot of games that fit in this month’s theme were mentioned in previous months, including the aforementioned La-Mulana (only $2.99 on Steam as of this post!) and a slew of doujin horror games I listed in October’s Community Game-Along post. While those are all great picks for DoujinDecember, here are a few other titles to get you started:

Cave Story (PC/Mac, Wii, DS, 3DS) – Cave Story is, without a doubt, one of the most well-known doujin games in English. The Metroidvania-style adventure game was originally self-published for PC in 2004, making this year its 10th anniversary! If you’ve yet to play a doujin game, this one is highly recommended for its platform accessibility and high degree of polish. You can even still get the original game for free, though later revisions sport upgrades that would be worth checking out.

Unholy Heights (PC) – The great thing about DoujinDecember occurring right in the middle of Steam sales is it’s an awesome time to pick up some lesser-known doujin games on the cheap! Unholy Heights is one such game, and it’s only $0.99 right now. The RTS/apartment management sim is both addictive and adorable, with a drop-dead cute monster theme and fun but not too complex gameplay. If that isn’t enough to sell you on this game, it makes a great pick up and play title to fit in during the busy holiday season!

Yume Nikki (PC) – Speaking of the holiday season, you’re probably telling yourself that you can’t bear to spend any more money on anything, let alone more games. Luckily, another classic doujin game, Yume Nikki, is available free to download in English from Playism’s site. While perhaps not explicitly a horror game, Yume Nikki has players controlling a girl name Madotsuki as she travels through her dreams, and it has become quite notorious for its disturbing imagery. It’s a doujin classic worth experiencing, but you might want to play it with the lights on!

Hatoful Boyfriend (PC/Mac) – How could I not mention the most infamous doujin game of 2014? Hatoful Boyfriend has been available in English since February 2012, but the game only just launched on Steam in September of this year. Now that it’s available to an even wider audience, everyone seems to be talking about “that pigeon dating sim.” If you want something goofy with a surprisingly dark undertone and you’ve never tried a romantic visual novel before, this would be a great place to start! Like most of the games mentioned, it’s currently on sale, too. Keep in mind that it will be coming out for PlayStation 4 and PS Vita next year, so it may be worth holding off on if you’d prefer to experience it on those platforms.

There are dozens more doujin games available in English in a wide variety of genres, meaning there’s something for nearly everyone! I hope this month will be a good opportunity for some folks to step out of their comfort zones and try something new. Happy gaming! 
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Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair Giveaway for #NISNovember!

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In a first for my monthly Community Game-Alongs, I’m excited to announce a themed giveaway! The wonderful folks at NIS America have offered two copies of Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair for the November Game-Along which, as you probably know by now, is centered around Nippon Ichi Software and NIS America games. If you’ve already been participating, great, but if you haven’t, now’s the time to start playing those NIS games!

To learn more about Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, be sure to check out my review! If you’re not familiar with the Danganronpa series, then Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is the place to start. Grab a copy and celebrate the last week of #NISNovember in style! 
Entering the giveaway is easy! Just sign in with Facebook or your email address below: 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
The giveaway closes on November 30th at 12 am, EST. Two randomly-selected winners will receive a physcial copy of Danganronpa 2. The prize can only be shipped within the U.S. and Canada, sorry! There will be many more chances for international folks to enter future giveaways.

Good luck and happy gaming!

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Announcing the Nippon Ichi Software Community Game-Along

11 / 6 / 144 / 18 / 15

Goodness me, look at the time! We’re nearly a week into November already, which makes this month’s Community Game-Along theme announcement horribly overdue (though if you follow me on Twitter, you’ve probably heard all about it by now). For those of you who haven’t, never fear – there’s still plenty of time to get in on this month’s theme, Nippon Ichi Software games!

For the purposes of appealing to as many people as possible, I’ll be including combining both Nippon Ichi Software and NIS America this month, so games that are developed as well as published by the two companies are eligible for the theme. If you’re unfamiliar with Nippon Ichi Software, I’d highly recommend checking out the Hardcore Gaming 101 series that focuses on the Japanese developer’s strategy RPGs.

All you need to do to participate in the NIS Community Game-Along is pick a game (or games) that fit the theme to play and share your experiences! On social media, please use #NISNovember to tag your posts so everyone join in the fun.

I’ve had a few folks mention to me that NIS games aren’t really their thing, which is why I’d like to use November to highlight the wide and varied library both NIS and NIS America have! While Disgaea is undoubtedly their flagship title, there are many more games under the NIS umbrella to discover. Why not try out one of these fine games?

Danganronpa (PS Vita) – Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havocand Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair are by far the main reason why I decided to include NIS America-published titles in this month’s theme. Developed by Spike Chunsoft of Zero Escape series fame, Danganronpa features some of the best writing and catchiest music I’ve heard in a game in a very long time. If you plan to jump into the series, you absolutely must start with the first game, as the sequel expands on the plot of the first in a number of very important ways. Check out my review of the first game to find out if it’ll be your cup of tea.

Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure (PSone, DS) – Unlike NIS’s comparatively dense strategy RPGs such as Disgaea, Rhapsody stands out as being more about the presentation than the difficulty of the gameplay. Touted as a “musical RPG,” Rhapsody features an array of cute and quirky characters that will often break out into song during dialogue sequences. It’s worth noting that the DS version features a gameplay overhaul, making it into more of a traditional turn-based battle system than a strategy RPG. If you want an RPG loaded with female characters that won’t suck away all your free time (it can be completed in about 10 hours), then Rhapsody may be worth seeking out.

ClaDun series (PSP, PSN, Steam) – I hardly ever hear love for the ClaDun series, but it’s actually one of my favorite series developed by NIS! The quirky art style and top-down dungeon crawling gameplay make this series lots of fun for those looking to try something less tactical than NIS’s usual fare. Your characters and party are fully customizeable, down to the sprites themselves, and the music is surprisingly memorable for a niche game release. ClaDun X2, being the sequel, is the more polished of the two, and can be purchased on Steam as well as PSN for PSP or Vita. If you’re looking for something that can be played on the big screen and has a little more story, Legasista (PS3) is very similar.

GrimGimoire (PS2, PSN) – Another NISA-published title, GrimGrimoire is perhaps the least well-known of acclaimed developer Vanillaware’s titles. If the game’s gorgeous art style isn’t enough to interest you, the real-time strategy gameplay might! At only $10 on PSN, this is the cheapest game recommendation on my list, but don’t assume you’re trading quality for cost. You can read my full review here.


Before you start digging into your NIS games, please consider completing my 2015 Community Game-Along survey! The survey will be available until mid-December and will help me gauge if there is interest in continuing these theme gaming months into next year. It’ll only take a couple of minutes to complete, so please let me know your thoughts!

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Welcome!


Name: Anne Lee
Birthday: December 13
Fav food: Mochi

Chic Pixel is where I write about my favorite aspects of Japanese pop culture, with a focus on the cute and nerdy! Read More >

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