Author: Anne Lee

A closer look at the Pokémon Center Pikachu Face Cookies

Those of you who are already following my YouTube channel (thanks!) probably know already, but for those who don’t – a new episode of Apricotsushi Samples is up! This week, I try out some adorable Pikachu cookies I purchased at the Pokémon Center in Osaka last June. If you’re interested, do give it a watch:

Since my YouTube video endeavors are still rather young, I thought it’d help get the word out by posting about them here… But I also don’t want to keep repeating the same things, just in different outlets, so I really want to be able to include some special extras for those of you who actually go to the effort to read these posts! Luckily, in this case, I have just the thing:

In the video, I mention that each of the cookies has a distinct face (except for the one duplicate, which I gladly ate), but I didn’t get a chance to show them. So, here’s a photo! I absolutely adore how Japanese companies put little flourishes on their products like this. The Pikachu in the top middle looks so sad, though! 

And here’s a closeup of the cookies and individual wrapper designs. I suppose I should go ahead and eat the rest of them, but it’s really hard to bring myself to eat something so cute!

Well, I hope you’re enjoying Apricotsushi Samples so far! I’m having a lot of fun filming them, and if all goes well I’d like to slowly expand the video content on my channel. Fans of the written word have no need to fear, though, as this site will always come first! That said, I’d love some input on future episodes of Apricotsushi Samples. This week I’ll definitely be doing the Mountain Dew Cheetos I received in the mail yesterday, but future weeks are still up in the air. Would you like to see different Kit Kat flavors? Savory snacks? Sweet candies? I’ve got quite the backlog of Japanese treats to choose from!

Monster Monpiece added to growing list of niche Japanese games coming out in English this year

If I were to preemptively name 2014’s theme, I might be inclined to call it the “year of niche Japanese game releases.” Not only are we getting Danganronpa, Yumi’s Odd Odyssey, Conception II, and Steins;Gate, but now Idea Factory International has announced that they will be bringing their card battling RPG PS Vita title, Monster Monpiece, out in Europe and North America this spring.

I have to say, the idea of a card battling RPG is totally my jam. Unfortunately, Monster Monpiece comes with a little extra, er, baggage. See, the game became notorious last year for its raunchy mini-game called First Crush ❤ Rub that requires players to find monster girls’ “weak points”… and I’m sure you can guess where these weak points might be. If a monster girl becomes sufficiently excited during First Crush ❤ Rub mode, an additional minigame called Extreme Love will be activated. This is probably the most infamous element of Monster Monpiece, as it requires players to grip their Vitas vertically and vigorously rub the front and back touch pads simultaneously. And if you’re still left wondering what these mini-games are all about, here’s a direct quote from Idea Factory International’s Press release to drive it all home: “… we kindly note that we highly recommend you play this portion of the game in private, due to the explicit voices and hand-action during First Crush ❤Rub and Extreme Love.”

Okay, it’s pretty clear that Monster Monpiece is not aimed at me. But from what I understand, beneath its obnoxious exterior is actually a very competent RPG, and I’ve always wanted to see a card battling game come out in English. Unfortunately, though, not only does Idea Factory International feel it needs to highlight the more unsavory aspects of the game (if their first English trailer is any indication), but the company is also in hot water with fans over the removal of a number of the higher level (and thus, less clothed) monster cards from the English release of the game.

I’m really not interested in turning this post into an argument of whether censorship is okay or not, or whether Monster Monpiece is objectifying/sexist/etc. or not (though if you’re wondering, the answers are no and yes, but the discussion is definitely more complicated than single-word responses). Rather, I think it’s important to highlight that despite all this, I’m not only happy that Monster Monpiece is coming out, but I’m actually interested in checking the game out myself. However, the fetishistic gameplay elements and the preoccupation game developers have with pandering towards a male audience is beyond tiresome, and I sincerely hope that if nothing else, Idea Factory International brings one of their parent company’s otome games over next.

The idea that there isn’t a market for games aimed at a predominately female audience is simply absurd, and we need to see more diversity in the games that are localized into English. You know where to find me if you want my list of otome games I want to see come over, Idea Factory!

Final Fantasy XIV Dragon Quest X and Final Fantasy XI Event Tutorials + Impressions

Hell of a title, eh? Unfortunately, it couldn’t be helped, as Square Enix decided to launch two tie-in events in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn this month: a Dragon Quest X event, “There’s Golems in those Hills!” and a Final Fantasy XI event, “That Old Black Magic.” It’s great to see near-constant events since the Lightning event began in November, but these two quests are rather short, so you should be able to knock them off rather quickly.

First, you’ll need to initiate the Dragon Quest X event in Ul’dah and the Final Fantasy XI event in Gridania, so I’d suggest hitting up whichever one is closest to you at the time. Both events end on February 3rd and won’t take you very much time at all to complete, though, so you may want to wait a few days until the initial rush is over! I started with “That Old Black Magic” in Gridania, but it doesn’t matter what order you do them in.

You’ll find the quest giver, Khloe Bajhiri, at X:10, Y:11 in New Gridania. This level 10 quest is very straightforward: after accepting it, you’ll need to go complete two FATEs that happen in succession. The easiest FATE location to get to from Gridania is in East Shroud at X:12, Y:26, but you can also find it at South Shroud (X:15, Y:30), Western Thanalan (X:25, Y:19), Southern Thanalan (X:14, Y:38), Middle La Noscea (X:15, Y:12), or Eastern La Noscea (X:30, Y:34). That’s a lot of FATEs, but remember you only need to go to one location to complete the quest, so you can take your pick.

The first FATE located in East Shroud is level 11 and will find you fighting a bunch of large Spriggans, while the second FATE features the unnamed “Monstrous Sorceress” (though anyone who knows Final Fantasy XI should recognize her!). Since I did the FATEs the day the event went up, it was hard to see much of anything, and I was worried I wouldn’t get a gold medal since I wasn’t in a party. I only hit the Monstrous Sorceress a couple times, but I still got a gold medal! I’m not entirely sure, but I think you just have to participate in the event in order to get the item required to complete the quest.

The item in question is a Dainty Doll, which you’ll need to turn in to Vorsaile Heuloix in New Gridania (X:9, Y:11). You’ll then be treated by a very fun cutscene, after which you’ll get your reward! I don’t want to spoil too much of the fun for those who will be doing this quest themselves, but here are a couple screenshots that gave me a chuckle:

In awe of the giantess
Two of them?!

After you encounter Shantotto, you’ll be gifted with a Wind-up Shantotto minion.

I gotta say, the minion’s pretty cute:

Again, it was a very simple quest, but the reward is nice! 
Next up is the Dragon Quest quest (heh) located in Ul’dah. Interestingly, the requirement is only level 7, which is lower than the Final Fantasy XI quest. You’ll need to go see Havak Alvak at X:12, Y:8 to initiate it, then go find the Beefy Businessman at X:8, Y:12. He’ll ask you a very important question that you must answer correctly in order to proceed: 
As if I would say no! Just like the Final Fantasy XI event quest, you’ll need to go complete a series of two FATEs to complete “Breaking Brick Mountains.” Again, there are many locations, but the easiest one to get to from Ul’dah is located in Central Thanalan, X:17, Y:23. For the curious, here are the other locations: Lower La Noscea (X:27, Y:17), Upper La Noscea (X:34, Y:24), Central Shroud (X:23, Y:23), and North Shroud (X:15, Y:31). 
Like the Final Fantasy XI quest, the first FATE will feature a bunch of smaller enemies, and the second will be just one large enemy, a Stone Brickman. You can see I decided to party up for this one just in case I needed to get a gold medal for the FATE to get the quest item. 
The item you’ll need is the Brickman Chunk, which you can turn in to the Beefy Businessman to complete the quest. Again, I’m not 100% sure, but I think you just need to participate in both FATEs to get the item. That, or it’s very easy to get gold! 
Just like with the Final Fantasy XI quest line, I don’t want to spoil the cutscene that follows. This one, in particular, is a lot of fun! I’ll just leave you with these: 
Puff puff fans rejoice!
The expression on Chive’s face is priceless
For some reason, Square Enix decided to give not one, but two items for completing this quest: a Thug’s Mug and a Wind-up Brickman. 
Here are a couple shots for posterity: 
Love how it looks cel-shaded!
Goes pretty well with Chive’s Monk garb, eh?
I was a little surprised by how bare-bones these quests were, especially after the complicated holiday quests. Then again, I thought the Heavensturn event was rather tedious, so I guess something more straightforward is a good change of pace. The cutscenes were very fun, and it’s always nice to get new minions, so even though I would have liked a little more than just a couple of FATEs, it’s definitely better than nothing! Overall, though, I have to say my favorite part of these tie-in quests are the event-specific quest and FATE fonts and the cute slimes they added to the quest window for the Dragon Quest X event. I’m such a nerd! 

Watch me eat sakura matcha Kit Kats in my new video series

It’s not a secret that I love Japanese candy. In fact, I’ve written some strangely in-depth posts about interesting Japanese candy a few times in the past, but unfortunately I’ve noticed that they tend to not get nearly as much traction as my other, non-food posts.

Of course, the most obvious reason for this would be that no one is nearly as interested in Japanese candy as I am. If that’s the case, consider me thoroughly shocked and I will cease all candy-related endeavors at once. But instead of jumping to that conclusion, I’ve considered that perhaps reading about someone eating candy isn’t nearly as amusing as actually watching said person eating candy… Bet you can’t guess where I’m going with this!

That’s right, I’ve decided to jump into the scary world of Youtube videos! I’m calling the series Apricotsushi Samples and will be posting a new episode every Sunday. In my very first attempt, I take a bite out of the sakura matcha (cherry blossom green tea) Kit Kat pictured above. It’ll only take five minutes of your time, so if you’re at all interested, please give it a watch!

I’m sure it will become immediately apparent that I was extremely nervous to film this video. My fear of talking in front of people and the anxiety associated with that is something I’m always trying to work on, and while podcasting certainly helps, I imagine posting these videos will be a big step in overcoming that to some degree. Fingers crossed!

Of course, any and all comments are more than welcome! I’d definitely like to hear what people like/dislike about the video and what you would like to see more of in the future. And if you need to cleanse your palette after my video (pun intended; I’m so sorry), I highly suggest checking out Emmymade in Japan – her food videos are super, and she does a lot of fun Japanese candies, as well.

Kickstarter Spotlight – The Interactive Canvas: Gaming Artists

In my opinion, “Are games art?” is a tired debate. Rather than wasting time arguing whether or not they are, I prefer to let critique, analysis, and thoughtful discussion about the games we love and hate speak for themselves. Matt Sainsbury of Digitally Downloaded is looking to do just that with his new Kickstarter project for The Interactive Canvas: Gaming Artists, an annual coffee table book that will celebrate games as art through creator interviews and essays.

Since Matt is no stranger to Chic Pixel (you can hear us chat on episode 2 of Chic Pixel Plus!), I decided to get in touch with him to further discuss his vision for the project. “You can’t tell someone that a game is a work of art. All you can do is write about games from that perspective and, eventually, even the greatest of disbelievers will come around. This is how it happened with the film industry half a century ago,” he says. “I hope to show the skeptics that games are art by providing them with this book that is filled with proof. All the the game developers that we have involved with the book are genuine artists, and I expect that by reading their stories people will be convinced that there are game makers out there that think at a similar level to finest filmmakers and writers.”

The highlight for many of the planned book with be the 30 interviews with various game creators it contains – a sampling from the official Kickstarter page lists the likes of American McGee, Jonathan Blow, and Hidetaka Suehiro (Swery65). Since I’m all about Japanese games here at Chic Pixel, I had to ask Matt if he was planning/able to get more Japanese developers in addition to Swery on board. “I do have quite a few Japanese game developers that I can’t announce right now for various reasons,” he wrote. “I think with the Japanese developers, they want to see if the book is guaranteed to be published before they publicly back it… of the 30 interviews that will be in the book, around 1/4 of those will be with Japanese developers.” It’s too bad he can’t announce them until the Kickstarter is funded, but it’s great to hear there are more in the works! 
A game like Okami takes the term “interactive canvas” quite
literally!
But if the “games as art” debate is hotter than ever in the western games industry, what’s the situation like over in the land of the rising sun? Here’s what Matt had to say: “When I was in Japan a few years ago, a major art gallery in Tokyo had a simply massive exhibition of interactive art; Miyamoto got awarded a lifetime achievement award, and there was all kinds of displays looking at everything from Street Fighter to Love Plus. I think the Japanese love the idea of games as art, and the likes of Goichi Suda, Keiji Inafune and, of course, Shigeru Miyamoto, are simply accepted as artists. If we don’t see such an active debate about whether games are art in Japan, I’m more inclined to believe it’s because the Japanese don’t question whether it is or not.” 
Finally, in addition to all the exciting content already covered, The Interactive Canvas will feature a number of guest writers, including Brendan Keogh, author of Killing is Harmless, and… yours truly! That’s right, if The Interactive Canvas exceeds its funding goal, Matt has expressed an interest in hiring me to write an article for the book, which I would most certainly love the opportunity to do. 
If a gorgeous, 200 page, full color book chock full of insightful content on games far sounds up your alley, I encourage you to head over to the Kickstarter page and consider donating before the campaign ends on February 6th! 

Falcom Community Game-Along Weekly Roundup #2

Falcom Month is in full swing now with people all over the web playing Falcom games and writing about them! In hopes of keeping this post a little more concise than the last one, I’m just going to link to last week’s roundup and the initial Falcom Community Game-Along post, so do go check out those if you want to read up on the event!

Just finished Ys1 Chronicles. I still prefer the PCE version but it’s an amazing game nevertheless #Falcomonth pic.twitter.com/55y2Iuvpwt
— Wassim Christin (@Soulhouf) January 13, 2014

First, @BadoorSNK linked to a great guide to the Ys series that briefly describes each of the games and recommends which ones to play first. Unfortunately, the original link appears to be dead, but here’s the image:

Just like last week, some folks took the opportunity to celebrate OSThursday with groovy Falcom tunes, but week two is decidedly Ys-centric! @TepidSnake goes for classic PC-88 Ys, while @pablo_0151 chooses a bright theme from Ys III, and @Soulhouf highlights a more intense number from Ys: Oath in Felghana.

This week also saw two reviews for Ys: Memories of Celceta go up! Elliot Gay of Japanator has some high praise: “If you have a Vita, I guarantee you that you won’t find a better action RPG experience on the console.” Phil Kollar has a similarly positive impression of the title, stating in his Polygon review that Memories of Celceta is the “most approachable and smartly designed Ys game ever.” If you have a Vita and don’t have Memories of Celceta on your “to play” list for Falcom Month, you may want to consider it!

“Attack food” in #TrailsSC seems really op so far. Deal 3k damage to a boss without any charge time? Sure, why not. #Falcomonth
— Hasemo (@Hasemo) January 12, 2014

@jdklove has also been streaming a playthrough of Brandish 2 throughout the week, so be sure to follow him and keep an eye on his Livestream channel if you’re interested.

Finally, @BadoorSNK wrote a great piece on his blog about the quirky PSP title Gurumin, which he just completed as part of Falcom Month. He describes it as a “pleasantly breezy, super-charming, and whole-out joyful experience” that takes about 10 hours to complete. The game is available on PSN for the Vita as well as UMD, making it another easy title to pick up this month! I know it’s next on my list to play after I finish Memories of Celceta.

Continuing on with #Falcomonth, still on Sora no Kiseki FC. Determined to finish everything at Ruan tonight!
— Peter Grant (@ragathy) January 9, 2014

Hopefully we’ll see more writeups and impressions as people start to finish their games in week 3! Expect something from me, at the very least… I’ll see you in the next roundup, and until then, happy gaming!

Plush Felyne Slipper Review

Today I’m going to try something a little different… A slipper review! But these aren’t just any slippers, of course, as they feature the very adorable kitty mascot of the Monster Hunter series, Felyne!
I guarantee by the end of this post those soulless eyes will start freaking
you out (if they don’t already)

I received these as a Christmas present from my mom, and I have to say, even though it’s the middle of the summer here in Australia, I can’t help but want to wear them around the apartment. They’re just so cute!

But cuteness if only half of a premium slipper package. And, in the case of character merchandise like this, there’s always the possibility of bootleg items. Let’s take a closer look: 
First, can I say that the little tail on the back is the most adorable detail? Anyway, the label looks legit, even though it’s sewn on rather crookedly. 
The tag, however, makes it clear that this is definitely official Capcom merchandise with that fancy gold Capcom seal. You know you’ve got something special when you can’t even throw the tag away! That, or you’re me.
Aside from being made from a very soft, fluffy fabric, the slippers come with an anti-slip bottom. My house is fully carpeted so I don’t really have to worry about this, but it’s nice to have if you live in a place with lots of wood floors or other slippery surfaces!  
Here’s what they look like on. I don’t think I’ll be able to stop looking at my feet! The felyne heads are extremely well sewn, and it really feels like I’m stomping around on a pair of plush toys with how cushy they are. Of course, they are built with Japanese feet in mind, so if you have larger feet they unfortunately probably won’t fit. I generally run about a size 8 (25 centimeters), and my heel is just at the very back of the slipper. 
One last thing: check out how big the front of these are! They’re not called plush slippers for nothing. Using the universal measurement of the PSP case, they are a little more than half a PSP case tall. 
The only aspect I wasn’t able to “test” was their durability – I haven’t worn them all that much, so I can’t speak to how well they hold up over time. But they’ll only set you back $10 at Jlist.com, and for that price, they’re definitely a steal for Monster Hunter fans! They even have Felyne’s black kitty buddy, Melynx, for those who prefer the pink x black color scheme. 
How can you say no to that face
Finally, for those of you who are bummed that you won’t be able to fit into these tiny Japanese slippers, they also have Felyne and Melynx earmuffs! If it actually got cold enough where I live to necessitate owning earmuffs, I would’ve definitely picked up a pair by now.

Hopefully my Felnye slippers will keep me happy and my feet warm for years to come!