Author: Anne

A glimpse into my (random) Pokémon collection

Though I have a few other posts currently in the works (including my much-overdue best of 2012 list), yesterday’s Pokémon X/Y announcement seemed like the perfect opportunity to whip up another Pokémon goods-related post. This time, however, I won’t be gushing over items I don’t have, but things from my collection found during my recent trip to my parents’ house in the US! 

First up is an adorable mini playing card set that came free with a Japanese monthly manga magazine aimed at young girls called Ciao. As you can see, it’s actually for a series called Pi Pi Pi Adventure, better known as Magical Pokémon Journey in the west. I know next to nothing about the series, but I was lucky enough to receive these cards from a friend of my host mom who knew I liked Pokémon. Even though the stamps on the box “ruin” it from a collector’s point of view, I love the fact that it was an unwanted item that found a new home with me.

The box is very cute, but the images on the cards themselves just might be cuter:

backs of the cards

I think all of the characters shown on the cards are not random, but actual characters from the manga… Too bad I don’t know more about it!

Next up is perhaps one of the coolest random gifts my mom has ever gotten me:

That’s right, a remote-controlled Pikachu car! I’m happy to report that it still works after many years of sitting in a box!

I’ll tell you, I’m not one for remote-controlled gadgets, but it’s a surprising amount of fun to watch a teeny-tiny Pikachu car zoom around the kitchen table. Now, if they made a real car that just looked like it… 
It’s always quite the adventure to go through my things, and such a pleasant surprise to come up with a few old gems! Now I’m definitely in the mood for Pokémon X/Y‘s upcoming release this October… 

Announcing the winners of the 2nd Annual Holiday Giveaway!

I hope you all can forgive the horrible delay in my posting the winners of Chic Pixel’s 2nd Annual Holiday Giveaway, but better late than never, right? Let me tell you, jet lag is a killer!

Well, without further ado, here are the winners as determined by the powers of Random.org:

Puyo Puyo!! 20th Anniversary:
#9 – The Gay Gamer!

Manga: An Anthology of Global and Cultural Perspectives:
#2 – JRPG Club!

Thanks so much to everyone who entered, and congratulations to the winners! There were 14 entries for Puyo Puyo!! versus a mere 6 for Manga. I wish I could afford to give everyone a prize, but alas, that’s all I have for this particular giveaway. As a shameless plug, I will actually be giving out a few more odds and ends on my Twitter account over the next couple of days, so if you’re not following me already (@apricotsushi), please consider doing so!

12 Games I Still Need to Play from 2012

As we near the end of the year (some of you will already be in it by the time this post goes live), many gamers use their precious holiday vacation to reflect on the best titles they’ve played over the past 12 months and rush to complete a few last games before the clock strikes 12 on New Year’s Eve. I, of course, have been doing that as well, but I’ve also become acutely aware of just how many games from 2012 I’ve yet to play. It’s downright overwhelming! As such, I decided to whittle them down to an apt 12 personal must-play games from 2012, along with whether or not I own my picks and how likely I am to play them in 2013. So, without further ado, here are 12 games from 2012 that I have yet to play:

Gravity Rush
In possession: Yes
Likelihood I’ll play it in 2013: High

Considering virtually everyone I know who’s played Gravity Rush has raved about it to the point of dubbing it a “must-play” for all PS Vita owners, it’s downright silly that I never got around to it in 2012. In fact, I didn’t even get around to purchasing it, but my PS+ account netted me a free copy just the other month that I’m not only extremely grateful for, but I’ve already gone so far as to download it and play the opening sequence. I fully intended to play it this past month, but unfortunately I just didn’t get around to it, so it’s definitely high on my list for next year!

I love the Kiki’s Delivery Service vibe of this image!

Sine Mora
In possession: Yes
Likelihood I’ll play it in 2013: Medium

I don’t talk about them very often, but I’m actually pretty fond of shmups, with Einhander being among my favorite PSone games. Sine Mora wasn’t very high up on my “to-buy” list, but a recent Steam sale made me cave (darn those good deals!). I doubt I’ll ever beat it since I’m notoriously bad at shmups, but I’ll definitely give the first few levels a go sooner rather than later.

Crimson Shroud
In possession: Yes
Likelihood I’ll play it in 2013: High

I’ve never been one for table-top RPGs, which is what Crimson Shroud is said to pay homage to, but I really like the look of this third game from Level-5’s Guild01 package. Of course, I’m not one to pass up anything by Yasumi Matsuno (though I still haven’t played Tactics Ogre…) and I’ve also heard that this RPG can take less than 10 hours to complete if you don’t get screwed over like one Brad Gallaway when it comes to obtaining certain essential random drops, making it a more doable RPG excursion than, say, another Final Fantasy installment. I’m prepared to give this one a go soon, as I’ve already downloaded it onto my 3DS XL!

The Denpa Men: They Came by Wave
In possession: No
Likelihood I’ll play it in 2013: High

Given that one of my very favorite bloggers, The Gay Gamer, has praised this game inside and out and even named it as his favorite 3DS game of the year, there’s no way I can’t check it out! Luckily The Depna Men looks like it’ll be right up my alley, as it’s an RPG and a cute one, to boot!

Harvest Moon: A New Beginning
In possession: Yes
Likelihood I’ll play it in 2013: Sky high

I kid, but honestly, this is one of the games I was looking forward to the most in 2012, and it’s a near miracle that I haven’t gotten around to it! My mom was sweet enough to preorder me a copy for my birthday, so I even got the adorable plush yak, but I’ve yet to actually crack it open. I’ll chock that up to being a little too preoccupied with Style Savvy Trendsetters this month, but I can guarentee that as soon as I’ve exhausted that, Harvest Moon: A New Beginning will be next!

Persona 4 Golden
In possession: Yes
Likelihood I’ll play it in 2013: High
Can you believe I’ve never played Persona 4? Well, it’s time to remedy that and see what all the talk’s about. Part of me thinks it can’t be as good as everyone says, but how can I pass up a JRPG with dating sim elements? My lovely husband got me a copy of Persona 4 Golden, so there’s no way I can’t play it this year.

Xenoblade Chronicles
In possession: No
Likelihood I’ll play it in 2013: Low

I hate to say I probably won’t get to Xenoblade Chronicles in 2013, but I have to be honest! There’s just no way I’ll be able to get to everything on this list over the course of the year in addition to all of the new things coming out and trying to tick a few offenders off my ever-present backlog. But since it’s considered by many to be one of the best JRPGs of 2012, I have to keep it in mind for an eventual purchase and play.

Kid Icarus: Uprising
In possession: No
Likelihood I’ll play it 2013: Low

Now this is a funny one. I’ve never really been that interested in checking out Kid Icarus: Uprising, and the initial reviews weren’t exceptionally positive, but I’ve heard a lot from people who enjoyed it despite its flaws. Something about its sense of humor looks really fun, too! But again, I’ll be honest… Unless I receive this as a present somewhere down the line, I probably won’t ever get around to buying or playing it.

Binary Domain
In possession: Yes
Likelihood I’ll play it this year: Low/Medium

I did something sneaky when it comes to this one: I tried to convince Shaun he’d like to play it and added it to his Amazon wishlist (with his permission, of course) so that he’d get it for Christmas! Now, before you go and say I’m a horrible person, I must remind you that I do suggest many games to Shaun, and he does usually end up liking them (Theatrhythm comes to mind as one I was particularly successful with). While I do personally want to play this, I may just end up watching him play through it and leave it at that.

Persona 4 Arena
In possession: No
Likelihood I’ll play it in 2013: Low

I certainly don’t feel very happy about the whole region-locking debacle that surrounds Persona 4 Arena, but there’s no denying that it’s a fighting game developed by the same people who made my favorite series of fighters, BlazBlue. If I did ever get Persona 4 Arena, it’d probably be after I got through Persona 4 Golden and Persona 3 Portable anyway, which very likely won’t be until at least the end of 2013. I guess I can scratch this one of my list! It does look gorgeous, though.

Elminage Original
In possession: Yes
Likelihood I’ll play it in 2013: High

Can you belive I won a copy of this harcore dungeon-crawler from The Gay Gamer? I certainly can’t, but I’m overjoyed that I did! As such, I’ll definitely need to play it and post my impressions, though I’m a tad wary considering it is a little notorious for a steep difficulty level and poor English translation. Regardless, I think it will be a really interesting experience.

The Last Story
In possession: Yes
Likelihood I’ll play it in 2013: Medium

Now here’s a game I totally didn’t expect to purchase anytime soon, even though I’ve heard many good things about it. Funnily enough, though, I caught it while it was going for only $8 on Amazon… and how could I pass that up?! Still, I’m on the fence about whether or not I shoud prioritize this one this year. I’m open to suggestions, so if you’ve played it, do try to convice me that it’s worth a shot!

I have no idea who this character is, but now I’m 90% more
interested in The Last Story than I was before (yes, I’m very
shallow)

So, are there any games you missed from 2012 that you want to play? Do you see yourself playing them anytime soon? Looking at this list, I certainly have my work cut out for me!

Three’s no crowd when it comes to a 3DS collection

There’s excessive, and then there’s “I can’t believe you went there” excessive, and I dare say I’ve crossed some boundary of game collection shame with my latest acquisition: yet another 3DS.

Yes, they all travel with me… 

I could give excuses all day as to why I opted to get another 3DS over, say, a certain new Nintendo console, but in the interest of returning to my new copy of Style Savvy: Trendsetters as soon as possible, I’ll keep it short: 1) the Japanese 3DS LL is so nice, it’s hard to go back to an old model North American 3DS when I go to play my other games and 2) the pink x white version is supposedly going to be a limited release in North America, so I wanted to grab the color while it was still available.

So, suffice it to say, I now have three 3DS’s! Will there be a forth in my future? … I certainly hope not, because that would be really excessive, and I probably wouldn’t blog about it even if I did just to maintain a shred of dignity. I will say that though the handheld had a relatively slow start, I’m thoroughly enjoying what the 3DS has to offer now. Between switching back and forth from my copy of Animal Crossing: New Leaf to Style Savvy: Trendsetters, I’ve been keeping myself quite busy over the first week of vacation!

Forgive the cheesy filter, but it’s surprisingly fitting here, don’t you think?

Unfortunately the holiday season has kept me very busy, so I’ll have to cut this post short (don’t worry, Memos from Mamemura will return in January, as I don’t have a way to upload pictures from my SD card here at my parent’s house). I do, however, have one quick question for you all: Do you like “acquisition” posts like these? I recently noticed a comment elsewhere that suggested I was gloating in my Animal Crossing LL post. If anyone ever gets that feeling from anything I write, please inform me, because I really don’t want to come across that way. Perhaps sharing pictures and writing about items you’ve purchased/received can’t help but seem a little like gloating, but I’d like to keep as much of that out of my posts as possible! If it means cutting down on gratuitous photoshoots, I can certainly do that (though I doubt I’ll ever buy another limited edition item like that again, anyway). Please do let me know what you think, and if you don’t like these kind of posts, don’t be shy about speaking up. Thank you!

Oh, one last thing: Don’t forget to enter my holiday giveaway!

Chic Pixel’s 2nd Annual Holiday Giveaway

In honor of the holiday season, I have some exciting news! I have not one, but two awesome prizes to give away to my readers! All you have to do is comment on this post and let me know which prize you’d like to go in the drawing for:

1) A copy of Puyo Puyo!! 20th Anniversary 
This is a Japanese game, so all text is in Japanese, but it should be relatively straightforward if you’re familiar with Puyo Puyo or don’t mind fumbling around until you get the hang of things. Remember, it’s playable on all DS and 3DS models regardless of region (3DS is only region-locked for 3DS games). I absolutely love the Puyo Puyo games and this one is chock-full of content! (not to mention it’s drop-dead adorable)

2) A copy of Manga: An Anthology of Global and Cultural Perspectives
This is a great book for anyone interested in manga from a more academic perspective. Essays cover a wide range of subjects from Osamu Tezuka to Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, but my personal favorite is a piece titled “The ‘Beautiful Boy’ in Japanese Girl’s Manga” by the wonderful Mark McLelland. Please be considerate of others who may wish to use this resource for academic purposes when choosing this option!

The giveaway will be open until January 4th at 9 pm EST, which may sound like a long time, but I’ll be away on vacation until then and won’t be able to send out the prizes any sooner. Sorry!

For an additional entry, tweet about the contest and leave a comment here with a link to your tweet so I know you’ve done so! Participation is open to anyone in the world.

Best of luck to everyone who enters!

Memos from Mamemura: Week 4

This week was a relatively low-key week in Mamemura. Even my secretary Shizue was looking a little less chipper then usual:

But that doesn’t mean I didn’t get anything done! I’ve been diligently visiting Mamemura every day, and not only did the shoe shop finally get built, but Nook’s store received an upgrade, as well!

If you look closely, you can see a certain villager in Nook’s store, as well! Can you guess who it is?

Guess who moved in? It’s Doremi, the deer who camped in my village last week! What a quaint little house she has!

Since Christmas is coming up, all of the villagers are telling me what they’re wishing for. Frill here wants something green. Funny, I would’ve pinned her for more of a black or purple sort of gal, especially considering her taste in home decor…

Why, look who it is! Dr. Shrunk appeared one morning saying he wanted to open a club in my town, and that if I could get 6 signatures from other villagers, they’d start construction immediately. Of course I made it a priority to get those signatures, and a few days later, Club 444 was open and ready for business!

How do you like my Santa outfit? I’ve been trying to collect the various pieces as they show up in the shops. So far I have the boots, shirt, hat, and even beard (not wearing it in the above image, obviously). I just need the matching pants!

Oh, Lisa’s husband Kazio finally woke up! He has a really fun way of speaking, I can’t wait to see how they localize it. He can refurbish your furniture for you, but I haven’t tried it yet. 

Poor Doremi’s caught a cold, and I’ve fed her medicine two days in a row with no sign of her getting better. I wonder if villagers are more likely to get sick in the winter?

Well, that concludes this week in Animal Crossing: New Leaf! As always, feel free to ask me any questions you might have about the game in the comments!

Welcome to Backlog Hell aka “What do I play over vacation?”

Ah yes, the dreaded backlog… we meet again. Something about the holiday season and my never-ending list of Games I Want to Play (followed closely by Games I Want to Own and Games I Wouldn’t Mind Owning) always gets me reminiscing on just how many games I actually own but still have yet to play. I always buy my games with the most honorable of intentions (to play them, of course), but somehow they end up getting lost in the always-growing stack of reviews and new games I also Want to Play. 
I’m not going to count each and every game in my backlog because a) the result would undoubtedly be really depressing and b) I don’t think that would be all that productive. What would be productive, however, is to set a clear goal of what I’d like to play over the upcoming holiday. With that in mind, I surveyed my shelf and chose six games I bought/received over the past year that I feel drawn to play for one reason or another. The lucky titles are: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, Atelier Annie: Alchemists of Sera Island, The Legendary Starfy, Grand Knights History (JP), Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, and Fossil Fighters. 
How could I resist such an adorable chubby star? 
Now, it’s time to set a few goals. I’ve got nearly 3 weeks of vacation over the holiday break and two 20-hour flights to endure. I’m not sure what would be realistic, but I’d like to think I could play at least two games over that period. Since I need to be conscious of what I’m bringing with me from a space/weight standpoint, I’m going to rule out Grand Knights History and Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together because of the UMD Factor, which of course would mean I’d need to bring my PSP along for the ride. 
I don’t even know how I’d transport UMDs… 
From the looks of things, it’s going to be a a very DS-centric trip! I’ll probably cross Atelier Annie off the list due to the RPG Factor, which means it would take considerably more time to beat than non-RPG titles. 
I share my nickname with the protagonist of the game, though… 
So, that leaves me with three games: The Legendary Starfy, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, and Fossil Fighters. Where should I start? Is it reasonable to try and beat these three over the break, or should I whittle the list down to two? Do you have any games in your backlog you want to play through over the holidays? Let me know your thoughts in the comments! 
Bonus: Fossil Fighters scores a place on this list solely for the Dinosaur Factor and the Awesome Character Designs Factor. Case in point: