Author: Anne Lee

RegionThree Loader Makes Region Free 3DS a Reality

Have you always wanted to play Japanese 3DS games on your North American/European 3DS, but couldn’t because of the region lock? Or lamented the fact that North America gets everything before Europe? Well never fear, because RegionThree is here!

RegionThree is a loader by smealum released for Nintendo 3DS, 3DS XL, and 2DS (it does not work on new 3DS models) and is compatible with firmware versions 9.0 – 9.4. With it, loading 3DS game carts that are a different region from your system is a breeze. All you have to do is download the loader, move the file to the root of your 3DS’s SD card, and perform a little magic on your 3DS (full instructions on the official site) to get it up and running! 
Not only is RegionThree great for those who like to import games, but it does not in any way promote piracy, as it requires an actual copy of the game to work. There is no flash cart or other illegal method required, and I can confirm that using it to load a Japanese game on my North American 3DS did not harm my system in any way. 
So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to get out there and import some games! A couple standout titles from Japan this month include Legend of Legacy and Yowamushi Pedal: Ashita e no High Cadence. You can also check out my list of 10 Japanese Games Worth Importing. The exchange rate is also really great for Americans looking to import from Japan right now, too! 

(via NeoGAF)

Japan Envy: Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire Pokémon Café

If there’s one thing I still regret about my trip last July to Japan, it’s that I never got to go to one of The GUEST cafe&diner’s themed café events. Unfortunately, even if you are lucky enough to be around Shibuya, Tokyo during one of their exciting collaborations, you’ll still need to line up for anywhere from one to three hours… And they don’t take reservations! Still, thanks to the wonders of the internet, I can continue to drool over their adorable food items and exclusive merchandise from the comfort of my home in Australia. While their collaborations have usually tended toward specific characters, this time they’ve opened none other than a Pokémon Café!

Even the logo is adorable! For this event, the café is celebrating the 2014 release of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire for the Nintendo 3DS, so all of the food on their menu is styled accordingly. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights!

All food orders come with this complimentary paper placemat, which can be taken home with you (be careful not to spill anything on it!).
There are plenty of savory food items for Pikachu fans, the most striking of which being the omurice, or omlette rice, with either Team Magna or Team Aqua sauce. The official site doesn’t give any indication of what this special sauce might be, so let’s assume they’re both the same aside from the admittedly slightly unappetizing blue color of the Team Aqua sauce. The sauces come in the Pokéball cup pictured in the bottom right, which you can take home when you’re finished! 
The exceedingly red meal is mapo dofu (mapo tofu) based on Primal Groudon served with rice. Mapo dofu is a Chinese dish that’s quite popular in Japan, and is tofu based (hence the name) with spicy sauce and mince meat. Looks hot!
Pictured below that are some simple Pokémon french fries. I’m always amazed at how they print different pictures on edible items, though! Also note the sauce on the side shaped like a Pokéball. 
For those that have room for dessert, there’s this amazingly adorable Pikachu pancake. I love how they even added the tail! This dish also comes with a cup of maple syrup, and, as with the previous dish, the cup can be taken home. 
Since there was a dish inspired by Primal Groudon, of course they had to do one for Primal Kyogre! This dessert contains jelly, white chocolate, and berry mouse. It’s certainly very blue!
Last but not least, they also have Pikachu lattes, both hot and cold! I have to say the yellow cold Pikachu latte is definitely the more impressive of the two! 
All drink orders come with one special coaster to take home, with five different designs total. Which is your favorite?

And of course, it wouldn’t be a collaborative event without some exclusive merchandise! Here’s just a small sample of the items available – I’ll admit that I’m drooling over that tote bag! 
There are more food and merchandise items available to view on the café’s official site, so be sure to check it out! The collaboration is scheduled to run until the end of May, so you have plenty of time to plan your 3 hour wait if you happen to be in the area. If you’re able to make it in, you’ll also have the chance to download an exclusive Pikachu to your copy of Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire!

January 2015 is Rhythm Month!

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?

The Complete 2015 Community Game-Along Schedule

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!

Japan Prepaid Review

If you enjoy Japanese media like I do, it’s likely that you’ve delved into the world of importing. Whether it be games, CDs, or anime, sometimes there are things that can only be bought in Japan. Luckily, we live in a digital age where most of these items can be purchased through online services without having to pay exorbitant shipping costs. Still, not all digital Japanese platforms allow purchases from outside Japan, which is where Japan Prepaid comes in!

Japan Prepaid offers easy purchases of prepaid cards to a number of Japanese platforms such as PlayStation Network, Nintendo eShop, iTunes, DMM, and Web Money. All codes are provided by email within 24 hours after purchase (however they are experiencing delays over the holidays), and redeeming them in your platform of choice is extremely easy, even if you don’t know Japanese.

For the purpose of this review, Japan Prepaid provided a 3,000 yen Japanese PSN card (priced at $38.50), which I redeemed on my Vita. The code was delivered quickly and worked flawlessly, and the company’s owner, Josh, was friendly and enthusiastic in our correspondence.
To redeem the code on a Vita connected to a Japanese PSN account, click on the “…” button on the bottom right corner and choose the option at the top of the list.
Since I had some extra money on my account already, I decided to spring for Binary Star, an otome game for the Vita that I’ve heard very good things about! There are more and more otome games and visual novels on the Vita, making it a great system for fans of such genres. You can even swap between different region accounts relatively easily by having more than one memory card and wiping the system before making the switch.
Japan Prepaid also offers Japanese iTunes cards in denominations of 3,000 and 5,000 yen, which is great for those who want to download iOS games, music, or even anime and films. If you don’t yet have a Japanese iTunes account, I have a guide on how to make one without a credit card to get you started! It’s easy to add credit once you have an account, and you don’t need a Japanese credit card.
While Japan Prepaid’s prices may seem slightly expensive when compared to Play Asia or Jlist, Japan Prepaid has a comprehensive range of prepaid cards available, and it was nice to interact with an individual and support a startup company. Josh is also looking for writers to contribute to Japan Prepaid’s blog, so if you like Japanese pop culture and would like to get discounts to the site, that is definitely worth checking out.
Finally, Chic Pixel readers can use the code “chicpixel” for 5% off all purchases from now until January 10th! Be sure to like Japan Prepaid’s Facebook page for other discounts and news. It’s great to see so many options now available for buying digital media from Japan!

Watch Chic Pixel Plus feat. Elliot Gay Live Tomorrow!

In honor of the holidays and being in the same country at the same time, my good pal and frequent Chic Pixel Plus guest Elliot Gay and I have decided to do our first ever live show!

We’ll be talking about our favorite anime and games of 2014, answering viewer questions, and generally being merry! Tune in to my YouTube channel tomorrow (Tuesday, December 23rd) at 8 pm EST to join in the live festivities, or you can catch up on the recording later. We hope to see you there!

Note: There is a slight possibility that Elliot will not be able to make it due to intense jet lag from his trip home for the holidays. If that’s the case, the show will go on, but take a more informal format where I’ll chat with everyone and answer questions!

Artist Spotlight: lottie pencheon and her Funny Love Parappa minicomic

There are a lot of words in the title of this article that might not make a lot of sense when strung together, but I hope you paid special attention to the “Parappa minicomic” bit. When artist lottie pencheon announced on Twitter that she was going to publish (digitally! and for free!) a short Parappa the Rapper fan comic that deals with Parappa coming to terms with his sexual attraction to flowers, I was immediately intrigued. Not only do we not often see Parappa-related fan works these days, especially in English, but a potentially NSFW Parappa-related fan work? Sign me right up!

Funny Love, which culminates in Parappa masturbating to a bouquet of flowers, is probably not for everyone, but lottie’s depiction of the cute PlayStation mascot dealing with some of the difficulties of coming of age is surprisingly striking. It’s funny, sweet, and a little bit sad, and if you’re not scared away by the premise, head over to lottie’s site and give it a read!

lottie was kind enough to chat about Funny Love with me, and here’s what she had to say:


Chic Pixel: Are you a big Parappa fan? 

lottie: I love rhythm games, they’re so satisfying to me! I played the first Parappa the Rapper game when I was a kid, it was such a unique game and the songs are actually so so catchy. I played that game so hard that I can remember all the lyrics to this day, I often find myself singing the flea market song when I’m like, cleaning the house: ~all you ever need is to be nice and friendly~

CP: What was the inspiration for Funny Love?

lottie: When I was a little kid, I was like, “Why is this dog in love with a flower, that’s so strange to me” and recently, upon watching a playthrough of the whole game I was like, “Wait……THAT DOG WANTS TO HAVE SEX WITH THE FLOWER” sooo for fun I started doodling a confused and frustrated young dog that was like, trying to come to terms with his newfound sexual feelings. I posted some kinda x-rated illustrations on Twitter and I seemed to gather the support of some of my followers so like, I blame them entirely for encouraging me.

CP: Well I’m glad you got the encouragement you needed to flesh out the idea more! The comic kind of ends on a sad note, though…?

lottie: Well, Parappa is tortured by his sexual attraction to flowers and Sunny Funny is the ultimate object of his desire. He’s a teenage boy! His sexual urges are so strong that he simply must act upon them! But yeah, he feels very ashamed with himself after he jacks off into the stolen flowers.. He doesn’t want to be attracted to flowers! He never chose this life! He wants to be “normal!” Like everyone else! What’s wrong with him!!

But we all know that Parappa has nothing to be ashamed of, you don’t choose who you are attracted to and who you fall in love with. In the games, Parappa and Sunny Funny have a consensual relationship. I just wanted to illustrate the journey of self discovery Parappa went through before they started dating.

CP: In the page where Parappa slams the door to his room, there’s a skunk in the bottom right corner. Is this a reference I’m missing?

lottie: Ya it’s from the flea market level with the frog!!

To be honest, I was kinda lazy and could have added more references in that panel. I was thinking of maybe having Um Jammer Lammy’s guitar hanging on the wall… But nah, I was lazy, and rushed! I planned, wrote and drew this comic in, like, 12 hours.

CP: Ah, of course! Is this your first fan comic?

lottie: Well, a couple of years ago I did a small three panel comic for the Animal Crosszine (an Animal Crossing fanzine curated by Justin Woo and Meghan Lands). I also did a small Tamagotchi comic a year or so ago but I’m planning on a bigger and better Tamagotchi/digital pets comic in collaboration with Carolinenooo for next year.

lottie is definitely a PlayStation fan! look at this adorable Hohokum gif
CP: The PlayStation just had its 20th anniversary in Japan on December 3rd. Did you plan this comic to coincide with that, or is it just a happy coincidence? Any PlayStation memories you’d like to share?

lottie: I literally just heard about this anniversary just now. That’ll explain why everyone was talking about a load of PlayStation stuff on Twitter.. Happy Birthday PlayStation! I can’t believe I was SIX when I first met you!

PlayStation memories, hmmm… We had like a bajillion games cause our PS1 was hacked in order to play copied games. So I had, like, every Spyro, Croc, Gex, Crash Bandicoot, all those cool 3D platformers with animal protagonists. I was really really really obsessed with this game called Mr. Domino though. I only had the demo of it which let you play the first level, but I used to play it over and over and over and over omg I still haven’t played it through! Where are you, Mr. Domino?!

Thanks to lottie for taking the time to talk about Funny Love and other interesting things! She has recently opened a new online store where you can buy cards, stickers, comics, and even rings, so if you like her work, be sure to check it out. lotie pencheon’s Tamagotchi art is my favorite, so you can bet I’ll post again when her digital pets collaboration comic becomes a reality next year!