If there’s anything I love more than a good themed café, it’s a good themed café of a property I’m really into! I literally just spoke of my newfound love for Show By Rock!! in the last episode of Chic Pixel Plus, so this café announcement would be perfect timing… if I lived in Japan. But alas, I do not, so once again I am reduced to swooning over all of the awesome creations concocted for this exciting new café. Care to join me?
Most of you probably know I have a YouTube channel by now, but if you don’t, I’m here to politely to remind you that it’s a thing you can check out! Just like Chic Pixel Plus, I’m determined to get on a regular updating schedule. Over the past week, I’ve managed to upload two whole episodes! Yay me.
The videos are pretty self explanatory, but let me quickly reiterate: the Sailor Moon Crystal mango yogurt gummies I tried in the video above were amazing. I wish they were still available online!
The second video is a bit different than my usual fare… This Vegemite Cadbury bar is what I guess you could call an Australian limited edition delicacy. Vegemite, chocolate, and caramel, though? Sounds fishy to me…
Believe it or not, I’ve been making videos for just over a year now, but it’s hard work! If you like them, it would mean the world to me if you’d leave a comment, subscribe, or share my videos to your friends! As always, if you want to go the extra mile to support Chic Pixel, you can head to my support page, which is full of information on how to donate to the site or buy an item on my Amazon Japan wishlist.
With the wealth of games launching Kickstarter campaigns every day, it can be very difficult to sift through and find titles worth supporting. Purrfectly Ever After, a English language otome game by new developer Weeev, however, is one title I firmly believe deserves some recognition, which is why I’m writing about it here today!
Nier is one of those titles that nearly everyone I know has recommended to me, yet somehow I’ve never managed to ever play it for more than a few minutes since it came out five years ago. With the double-whammy of Nier 2 getting announced at E3 and this month being JRPGJuly, it turns out now couldn’t be a better time for me to finally pick it up!
I joking mentioned on Twitter before I started playing that I preferred the young bishōnen protagonist Japan received in the Nier Replicant version, which unsurprisingly received more than a couple responses saying I would change my mind when I started the game. While I still think Replicant Nier has a more appealing character design, I have been finding the more haggard version of Nier in Nier Gestalt (which was the only version localized) equally appealing.
Both games are virtually the same except for the protagonists and their relationship to the sickly girl Yonah they are trying to save, but this relationship is quite central to the game, so I imagine it changes the tone somewhat. Replicant Nier is often just referred to as “Brother Nier” due to the fact that he’s Yonah’s brother, while “Papa Nier” is, as the nickname would suggest, Yonah’s father. Grouchy Papa Nier and his relationships with the various characters in the game have really stood out to me so far, and I’m really impressed with the snappy, sassy dialogue.
As of this post, I’m about 7 hours in and have just received my first party member, though as far as I can tell they can’t be customized in any way and are fully managed by the game’s AI and thus don’t really count as a “party” in the traditional sense. I’ve also been getting a lot of tutorial texts and am experiencing an overwhelming feeling of “maybe I should open the menu and read those,” but there’s nothing I enjoy less than reading through tutorials! I suppose I might take a look at them if I start experiencing difficulties with the combat…
Speaking of which, I haven’t actually read any of the negative reviews of the game (I’ve heard it received many when it first came out), but my overwhelming impression before I started Nier was that the gameplay was supposed to be pretty rough. It’s certainly nothing to write home about, I’ve found it to be pretty fun so far, and am particularly enjoying the different magical powers Nier learns with the help of Grimoire Weiss. That whole first fishing quest can bite me, though.
I don’t believe it’s too much of a spoiler for anyone who hasn’t played to mention that the game is notable for requiring players to go through the game multiple times. From what I understand, I’m nearing the “point of no return” where the game is later replayed from after it’s been completed once… But in the interest of experiencing the game as it happens, I haven’t really read into it beyond that. What I can say is, I’m really digging the game so far, and I fully intend to actually complete a JRPG for once!
Be sure to check back next Monday for Nier Diary no. 2 and see if I’ve made it past the halfway point!
Friendly reminder that if you enjoy this post and other content on Chic Pixel, please use my affiliate links in the sidebar to do your video game shopping! I’d really appreciate it!
Hello Kitty is as an iconic character as they come, and likely one that anyone with even a passing interest in Japan has a trinket or two of. As a wee young Anne, friends and family would always falling back on Hello Kitty items as the obvious gift choice for my Japan-obsessed self. Now, the billionaire international superstar Hello Kitty is the ripe old age of 40, and Viz Media has decided to celebrate the occasion with Hello Kitty, Hello 40: A 40th Anniversary Tribute.
Who doesn’t love visual novels? It seems like everyone is hot on the genre these days, with more and more titles being localized into English and events such as the International Love Ultimatum Jam making visual novels, particularly those of the romance variety, increasingly visible. There are even some folks who would like to take that love for visual novels one step further to make their own, which is where the recently-released engine TyranoBuilder comes in. Touting an easy to use interface, the engine has large shoes to fill considering its competition, Ren’Py, is available for free and has been the go-to engine for western visual novel developers for years. Does TyranoBuilder bring enough to the table to make it worth the $14.99 price tag, or does the sweet price of free reign supreme?
If you’ve been following Chic Pixel for a while, you might remember that I did a JRPG-themed Community Game-Along last July. It turns out that was by far my most successful Game-Along of the year! Tons of people used the hashtag on Twitter to talk about the games they were playing, and there were even a few long form submissions, too. Since it was such a big hit, it only makes sense to do it again this year!
As always, all you need to do to participate is play a JRPG during the month of July. If you’re so inclined, use #JRPGJuly to talk about your experiences or share game recommendations with others on your social media platform of choice. Livestreams, blog posts, podcasts, or any other form of media where you play/discuss JRPGs is highly encouraged, as well! And if you’re looking for a way to stand out, it’s always great to see some lesser-known titles get some love.
I’m sure you’re all wondering what I’m going to be playing… Well, I’m excited to announce that Nier was the winner of my recent Twitter poll to decide the JRPG I’ll tackle this month! Earthbound was a close second, with poor Fire Emblem Awakening taking up the rear. To keep myself accountable, I will be posting weekly updates on my progress every Sunday for the month of July, so keep an eye out for that!
Though I usually end with a list of game suggestions that fit the month’s theme, I’m sure there will be no shortages of JRPGs at your disposal. However, I’ll leave you with a question: If there is one overlooked/under-appreciated JRPG you would like to see someone play this month, what would it be? Maybe someone will take on your request!
