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!
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!
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.
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!
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.
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!
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!