Category Archives: games

International Game Jam: GAMERella Global 2021

If you’ve frequented Chic Pixel before, you know I’m all about more inclusive video games – whether it’s the games themselves or the community surrounding them. That’s why I was super excited when friend of the site Gina Hara, coordinator and creative director at TAG, reached out to me to help get the word out about GAMERella Global, which is going online for the first time in 2021!

GAMERella is a free, learner-friendly and supportive game-making marathon, dedicated to finding ways to better serve people who are often excluded from traditional game-making spaces. That means anyone and everyone is welcome!

Founded in 2013, GAMERella has helped hundreds of people start making games through mentorship, industry connections, and career advice. It was conceived by folks including co-founder Gina Hara at Concordia University with the goal of making getting into game jams and game-making less intimidating. This year, the event will take place globally through Discord from July 9-11, so that means anyone can participate regardless of location. If joining a game jam sounds a little too daunting for you, there will also be workshops on topics such as scoring for games, character design, and how to break into the game industry. But if you’re ready to take the plunge and participate in the jam itself, get a leg up with this Intro to Game-Jaming video from the 2018 event.

GAMERella participants jamming from home during the pandemic in 2020
(photo by Danielle Olson)

They’re also looking for volunteer mentors, so if you happen to have a couple hours free this weekend and want to support the participants and provide some wisdom, check out the mentor call out.

I might not be making a game, but I’m very excited to see the workshops planned! You can sign up for GAMERella Global for free to get access to the Discord via Eventbrite. Who knows, maybe you’ll get some ideas for your first (or next!) game!

Chic Pixel’s Best Anime and Games of 2014

I can’t believe it’s nearly three weeks into 2015 and I’m only just now getting around to finalizing my favorite game and anime picks of 2014! They always say time moves fast, but I’m definitely feeling it right now. Regardless, I’d like to take the opportunity to weigh in on some of my favorite Japanese media from the past year, in no particular order. Keep in mind that the first few items in each category were also mentioned in the holiday episode of Chic Pixel Plus, so if you want to hear more about a particular pick, please check it out!

♡Games♡


Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Wii U) – 2014 was the year I finally caved and bought a Wii U, a purchase I’m finding myself extremely happy with. While I’ve had absolutely no interest in the other new consoles, the Wii U has a wide variety of titles that I’ve been wanting to play, so I’ve been having a bit of a Wii U bonanza as I go back and picking up everything I’ve missed. Captain Toad was something I actually got my mom for her birthday when I went to the U.S. for the holidays, and many great evenings were spent helping her through the levels and trying it out for myself. 
As a decidedly “not into Mario” gal, I’m happy that there’s a game in the franchise’s adorable universe that finally appeals to me. The slower, puzzle-based focus and self-contained environments are just so refreshing!  
Bayonetta 2 (Wii U) – Continuing the Wii U love, I have to admit that once I heard that Bayonetta 2 was just as good as the original, I knew I needed the system. Bayonetta is by far my favorite action game, and though the game’s campy sense of humor and over-the-top antics may not be everyone’s cup of tea, I was 100% on board for a sequel. 
There was some fear that Nintendo’s money behind the IP would mean intentional or unintentional “toning down” of the game’s content, but fans can rest assured that Bayonetta 2 is a worthy successor to the original in every way. It’s also, in my opinion, one of the most accessible action games available due to its extremely sharp combat system that greatly rewards timed dodging, making it a great place to start for folks who want to jump into the genre! 

Danganronpa (PS Vita) – Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair are very much two separate games, but considering the fact that they both came out this year in English and were packaged together for the Vita release in Japan, I think it’s reasonable to consider them a single unit for the sake of this post. I think I’ve praised the series more than enough throughout the year, but that’s because I really enjoyed the games that much! While they certainly aren’t perfect, between the two games I saw some of the best characters and narrative twists of any game I’ve played in the past few years. Not only that, but the music is superb and art direction quirky and memorable, making it the ultimate package! 
Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd (PS Vita, PS3) – While I honestly can’t believe I’m putting this on my list over Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call given my love of Final Fantasy music, there is something about the Project Diva gameplay that really hooks me. Project Diva F 2nd is much more polished than the first game, particularly on Vita, and while I don’t love the music nearly as much as I love Final Fantasy‘s various soundtracks, nothing beats clearing a really difficult song on extreme. This one’s a must for rhythm game fans, in my opinion! 
Hatoful Boyfriend (PC, Mac) – I can’t even really begin to describe Hatoful Boyfriend outside of its goofy premise. Yes, it’s a visual novel centered around dating pigeons, but there’s so much more to it than that! If you’ve never played a visual novel, or more importantly, a dating sim game, you need to look up Hatoful Boyfriend now that it’s available on Steam with an improved translation. The humor is always spot-on, the game is extremely self-aware, and if you actually sit through it to the end, you’ll be sure to have your expectations blown right out of the water. Better yet, wait for the Vita and PS4 release sometime this year – it’s the perfect kind of game to play on a handheld!
[Special mention to Monster Hunter 4G, which I have talked about more than enough already! If you really want to know why it was one of my favorite games of 2014, I talk about it at length on the podcast around the 32 minute mark] 
♡Anime♡
Log Horizon – One of the most surprising anime from 2014 for me was definitely Log Horizon. After being completely put off the idea of an MMO-based anime after Sword Art Online proved to be little more than a typical harem show with some nice animation, I didn’t think Log Horizon could deliver on the interesting narrative possibilities posed by the “people trapped in an online game world” premise. 
Never have I been so wrong. Log Horizon season one was a ton of fun from start to finish, and so far I have been enjoying season two just as much, though both have had a slow episode or two. The series asks very interesting questions like “if you’re trapped in a ‘game’ world with no way to escape and unlimited lives, how do you give your life meaning?” and actually delves into MMO gameplay and strategy, giving the show a lot of depth. I haven’t even begun to talk about some of the more fun members of the cast, or the fact that, for a modern anime, it is refreshingly light on fanservice. 
Hunter x Hunter – I’ve never been a big fan of shonen anime or manga, but Hunter x Hunter proves that such preferences don’t really matter when it comes to a truly unique series. While the early episodes of the reboot, which began airing in 2011, take on a very classic shonen tone, the series quickly evolves to something much more complex (and dark!) than any anime supposedly aimed at preteen boys I have ever seen. The highlight is definitely the varied, complex characters that experience very realistic growth over the course of the series’ 148 episodes, particularly protagonist Gon and his best friend Killua. Though the manga has been in various stages of hiatus for many years and will very likely never get a proper conclusion, the anime covered nearly every chapter of the manga to date and managed to wrap it up in a (relatively) satisfying manner when it finally concluded in late 2014.
Gekkan Shojo Nozaki-kun – Like most high school girls, Chiyo has a crush. When she musters up the courage to tell the man of her affections how she feels, however, he mistakes her as a fan of his work. Why? Because Umetaro Nozaki is actually a shojo manga artist, despite being an indifferent-looking high school boy. In an effort to get closer to him, Chiyo starts helping out with his manga after school, and, of course, crazy antics ensue! 
Nozaki-kun was a real surprise for me in 2014, as I haven’t had much experience with 4-koma anime adaptations and wasn’t sure how well the quick-to-the-punch humor would animate. Well, I’m happy to report that it translates to animation extremely well, making Nozaki-kun by far the most fun anime of the year! If you’re a bit of a nerd, you’ll likely see a lot of yourself in this show, and maybe even learn a thing or two about how manga is made in the process. 
Barakamon – I didn’t hear much buzz around this show when it aired last year, which is a real shame considering it was a definite standout of 2014 for me. It’s very rare that I like child characters in any medium, let alone anime, but Naru (pictured above) is one of the most hilarious kids I’ve seen in a long time. Not only is she funny, but her, along with the rest of the cast of Barakamon, help teach down-and-out calligrapher Seishu Handa how to come to terms with his craft. As someone who is going through a bit of a “career crisis” myself, it was refreshing to see an anime that focused on questions surrounding artists and making a living out of art. Not only that, but the setting of a remote island off of Kyushu, Japan was extremely charming, as well. 
Well, now that I’ve finally laid out all my cards on the table, what were your favorite games and anime of 2014? It was a great year for Japanese media, so I’m sure everyone has their own unique picks. Sound off in the comments! 

Idol RPG Omega Quintet is coming to Western PS4s

Idea Factory International has decided that the second non-Hyperdimension Neptunia game they’ll be localizing for western audiences is Compile Heart’s PS4 RPG, Omega Quintet. Scheduled to launch in North America and Europe in Spring 2015, the game is notable for being one of the few Japanese RPGs on the PS4. Apparently it also makes use of the Move controller!

It’s interesting to think that the only idol games we’re seeing in English are Idea Factory titles (and Love Live on mobile devices), but there you go! Unlike a traditional idol simulation game, though, Omega Quintet sticks with its musical theme to create a unique RPG where characters utilize systems such as “concert mode” and “harmonics”that harness the power of music to beat down enemies.

Taking cues from games like Senran Kagura, the girls in Omega Quintet will have customizable outfits and take damage to their clothes, resulting in a “costume break” if a certain threshold is reached. It very much looks like a traditional Idea Factory game, but with improved graphics and resolution for the PS4, so if their games are your cup of tea, be sure to mark your calendar for Spring 2015!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, there’s at least one male character in the game (the nondescript fellow featured on the Japanese cover above). Because every idol group needs a manager, right? I hope there’s an actual rhythm component to the battles, as that would be a lot of fun! Now let’s take bets on how long it will take for me to stop writing the name as “Omega Quartet“…

Anne in Japan 2014: The Game Haul

One of the best things about going to Japan is the chance to go game shopping. Last year I bought a whopping 24 games when I was in Osaka on vacation for three weeks, but this year I had to be slightly more frugal. Still, I think I came back with quite a few goodies, including some rare and very cheap finds! 

If you add it all up, I purchased a total of 13 games this trip, comprised of three PSone games, one PS2 game, one PS3 game, one PSP game, two Vita games, one GBA game, three DS games, and one 3DS game. I’m actually pretty impressed by the relatively even sampling of consoles on display in my haul overall! While I may not have bought quite as many games as I admittedly would have liked, that was largely due to the fact that three of the games purchased were significantly more than the few bucks I usually spend per game while in Japan. 

Funnily enough, one of the first game purchases I made also happens to be the one I’m most proud of! Last year I actually got a copy of The Vision of Escaflowne for about $8, but this year I managed to find the limited edition for only $15 in Akihabara, so even though I already had a copy of the game, I absolutely had to add the LE to my collection. It comes with a tarot card set and extra booklet that I’ll definitely be showing off more in-depth in a future post.

I’ll actually be giving away my extra copy of the game in my August Chic Pixel supporters giveaway, so if you’d like to be in the running, donate $5 or more to support the site and you’ll have the chance to win that and some other nifty stuff! My secretary tells me we only have two entries so far, so your chances of winning might be pretty good…

Since I’m talking about PSone games, here are the other two I picked up. The one on the left, Harukanaru Toki no Naka de, is the first otome game in the series by the same name. It was only $1, so I figured I might as well pick it up! On the right however, is a game that I totally stumbled upon by accident while I was wandering around Super Potato in Ikebukuro. Titled Oujisama Lv1, it claims to have RPG elements while apparently having an entirely male cast that may or may not all have crushes on the protagonist. You guessed it: the main reason I picked this up was due to the shōnen ai vibe! After doing a quick search on Google.jp, it appears my intuition was correct, as the game originated as BL PC RPG that spawned a fan disc and sequel, as well as a manga. I can’t wait to see what it’s like!

My lone PS2 purchase was the Harukanaru toki no naka de 2 premium box, which came with some art cards in addition to the game itself. What can I say, I’m a sucker for cheap otome games!

… And then there were the slightly more expensive otome games. Uta no Prince-sama Repeat for the PSP was nearly $40, as many otome games on the PSP don’t ever drop significantly in price, but it’s one I’ve been meaning to play for a while. After watching the anime, I know I’ll probably enjoy it, even though it’s very silly!

Yet another otome game! Do you sense a theme? Beyond the Future: Fix the Time Arrows is one of the few otome games available on the PS3, and though I literally know nothing about it, I quite like the art style. For $15, that was enough to sell me on it!

Believe it or not, these two PS Vita games were my most expensive game purchases of the trip. On the left we have the self-explanatory Puyo Puyo Tetris, which I originally planned on buying for PS3 for the couch co-op but ultimately decided it would be more enjoyable on a handheld. I’ve played a little of it and so far it has reestablished the fact that I’m awful at both Puyo Puyo and Tetris.

On the right, we have a game that actually came out while I was in Tokyo, Corpse Party: Blood Drive! The Corpse Party series are pretty much the only horror games I’ve ever gotten into, but after XSEED brought the first two for PSP out in English, I’ve been hopelessly hooked. I haven’t really had a lot of time to dig into this one yet, but it’s definitely very high on my list!

It’s a sad truth that the above game, Ohanayasan Monogatari GBA, is the only GBA game I bought during my trip, despite my obsession with them. It’s getting increasingly more difficult for me to find GBA games within my price range that I don’t already own! I’d never heard of this one before running into it during one of my routine GBA section checks (of course I had to meticulously go through all the GBA games in every game store I went to), but the cover art was cute and it seems like Harvest Moon… but with flowers. Apparently there’s a DS game in the same series that actually looks cuter, so I guess I need to put that on my list of things to get eventually! 

Speaking of DS games, Pokémon Typing DS is one I’ve had my eye on for quite a while now but never wanted to spend more than a few bucks on, so I was pretty stocked to find a copy with the bluetooth keyboard (pictured in the first photo) for only $5! The bottom game is Chocobo no Mahō Ehon: Majo to Shōjo to Gonin no Yūsha, which is the Japan-only sequel to Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales game. I honestly didn’t have this one on my radar at all, but after seeing it for $5 and initially passing on it, I ended up going back to the same store and grabbing it a few days later.

The final DS game I added to my collection was another spontaneous purchase, Ore ga Omae o Mamoru (bottom). I only knew it as an otome game with some RPG elements, but apparently it’s also a Metroidvania side-scroller? I’m definitely intrigued, but I don’t remember it getting a very good reception when it came out…

Oresama Kingdom: Ikemen Kareshi o Getto Shiyo! for the 3DS (top) is actually a game I had wanted to pick up last summer, but at over $40, I ended up passing on it. I had completely forgotten about ever wanting it until I randomly ran into it in a bargain bin in Ikebukuro the morning of the day I was returning to Australia… And for only $10, I knew I had to grab it! It’s one of the rare 3DS games that requires players to hold the system as if it were a book (think Hotel Dusk on the DS), and, of course, it’s an otome game. In the case of Oresama Kingdom, I believe it’s based on a manga series aimed at elementary/middle school girls. It’s currently going for $24 at Play Asia, which is the cheapest I’ve seen it available online, if you’re interested in checking it out!

Well, there you have it – every single game I bought while I was in Japan! If there’s any title you’d like to hear more about sooner rather than later, let me know in the comments and I’ll prioritize it!

Chic Pixel’s Best of 2013

Now that 2013 has come and gone, I figured it’d be as good a time as any to reflect on the most memorable things that came out over the course of the year. Of course, it just wasn’t possible for me to play all the games and watch all the anime that came out in 2013, and I’m not really fond of definitively putting labels on things such as “game of the year,” so I’ll just stick with shining the spotlight on what stood out for me personally. To hear me talk more in-depth about some of these titles, be sure to check out my end-of-the-year podcast with Brad Gallaway, as well!

☆Games☆

2013 was a great year for games, especially on handhelds. I think I played my 3DS’s more than any year previous, and my Vita got a fair share of love, too! Though the new consoles that came out at the end of the year mean a new generation of flashier games to play on the TV, I imagine I’ll be satisfied with my handhelds and retro hardware for a while yet. Here are a few of my favorite games I played last year:

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (PC, PS3) – I’ve written so much about this one already that I’m almost embarrassed to bring it up again! But considering how much time I’ve spent playing and thinking about FFXIV, it’d be criminal not to include it on this list. In fact, it blows all other games from 2013 out of the water for me. Not only was it my first MMO, but it’s the first mainline Final Fantasy I can genuinely say I loved since Final Fantasy X.

SteamWorld Dig: A Fistful of Dirt (3DS) – This little eShop game was, hands down, the biggest surprise of the year. When the developer contacted me to review the title for them, I initially scoffed at the name and thought, “Great, another silly western indie title.” Boy, was I wrong! I’ve never played Minecraft, Terraria, or even Metroid (hate mail commencing in 3, 2…), which SteamWorld Dig is often compared to, but I can say that it is a polished, addictive digging title that gave me major Mr. Driller vibes while still having its own cohesive style. And I’m pretty sure it’s the first eShop game I’ve played to completion!

Sweet Fuse: At Your Side (PSP/PSN) – I can’t commend Aksys Games enough for continuing to bring over otome games in English. While their first pick, Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom was a solid game, it wasn’t really the kind of thing that jives with me (brooding swordsmen, blech), so Sweet Fuse was a very welcome addition to their otome game library. Suffice it to say, if you’re only going to play one otome game in your life, make it this one – it’s campy, humorous, and is chock full of fun video game-related nods and references on top of the organically written romances.


Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (3DS, Wii U) – Not only was 2013 the year of my first MMO, it was the year of my first Monster Hunter game, as well! Rather than lamenting how I’ll never have time for any new games now, I’d like to highlight how great an experience Monster Hunter 3U has been so far, even though I haven’t played all that much of it in comparison to folks who literally sink hundreds of hours into each new installment. Everything from the monster designs to the little animation that plays when your character cooks meat on a spit is endearing beyond belief, and though I still really don’t have any idea what I’m doing, I’m looking forward to blundering my way through the series for years to come.

☆Other great games: Corpse Party: Book of Shadows, Bravely Default, Rune Factory 4, Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale (And probably more I’m forgetting! New Year’s resolution: keep a list of all the games I play)

☆Anime☆

2012 was the year I really started following current anime again, and I’m happy to report that my interest in keeping up with new series bubbled over into 2013, as well. While previously I mostly watched older things (and not very often, I might add), it’s great to be involved in the conversations that arise when everyone is watching a particular series together. That said, I didn’t actually watch all that many shows, so there are only two that stand out that I want to mention today:


Free! – Also known as the best thing that happened for female anime fans all year, Free! initially made waves (pun intended) as a short 30 second commercial by Kyoto Animation early in the year. The anime itself featured a group of cute guys doing cute things in bathing suits, so of course it was a hit, but it had all of the usual Kyoto Animation quality and charm. While the anime as a whole didn’t grab me as much as I would’ve liked, the interactions between the characters always put a smile on my face. Also, that ending sequence!

Gatchaman Crowds – After hearing a number of friends recommend this one, I finally decided to give it a watch in December, and I’m so glad I did! Gatchaman Crowds requires absolutely no knowledge of Gatchaman to enjoy, and it’s a beautiful, colorful series with a lot of interesting characters and surprisingly poignant themes. It’s also the first series where I’ve actually liked the ultra-hyper cute female lead (you know the kind), so it gets major points for that.

☆Bonus best anime-related trend of the year: Attack on Titan opening parody videos. I don’t normally get into memes, but these were amazing.

If you’re a fan of this blog and haven’t played or seen everything I’ve mentioned, hopefully you’ll have some new ideas for things to check out! And please do leave your own personal favorites of 2013 in the comments so I can fill my “to do” list with more great games and anime.

The Great Japanese Game Haul of 2013 – PlayStation Edition (with Giveaway!)

The time has finally come… to show off my haul of video games from my recent trip to Japan! I was originally going to throw everything together in one massive post, but it turned out to be far too unwieldy (apparently I like to write a lot… who knew?), so I’ve broken it up into two: the PlayStation edition, which you’re viewing now, and a Nintendo edition, which will come later this week. Sorry for all the “hey look what I got!” posts, but what’s a Japanese entertainment blog without excessive Japanese entertainment purchases, right?

I bought a new bookshelf specifically to hold everything I bought in Japan.
Feel free to judge

But before I begin, I’ll briefly detail my “criteria” for game purchases during my trip. I spoke briefly about my wishlist on episode 3 of Chic Pixel Plus, but I was most looking forward picking up a few GBA games to beef up my collection and a handful of random titles that are harder to find/more expensive outside of Japan. Ultimately, I was a little disappointed by the GBA game selection in Osaka (more on that in the Nintendo post), but I ended up with eight PSP games, five PS2 games, five GBA games, four PSone games, and two DS games. That’s 24 games total! Since I needed an easy way to break this up into two posts, I’ll just be going over the games I bought for PlayStation systems today.

First up are the four PlayStation one titles I picked up during my trip: Chocobo no Fushigi na Dungeon (Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon), The Vision of Escaflowne, Marriage, and Tamamayu Monogatari, better known as Jade Cocoon: Story of Tamamayu. Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon and Marriage were my two whim purchases – Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon was only $1 and I’ve been amassing a bit of a Chocobo game collection lately, whereas Marriage caught my eye because of the oh-so-descriptive title and the fact that the back of the box touts that it’s a dating sim that takes place after the protagonist has already married the girl of his dreams. Sure, sign me up!

The Vision of Escaflowne and Tamamayu Monogatari, however, are two titles that I’ve been wanting to add to my collection for quite a while. In particular, The Vision of Escaflowne is a game I’ve been pining for for a number of years now, so finding a copy in great condition was a real highlight of my many game store visits. And, while I’ve always wanted to play Jade Cocoon, I’ve been holding out for Tamamayu Monogatari due to its awesome cover art illustrated by none other than Katsuya Kondō of Kiki’s Delivery Service fame, so it’s great to finally have that, as well!

Next we have the first half of my PSP game haul. Final Fantasy Type-0, Pop’n Music Portable 2, and Gekka Ryōran Romance were all on my list, so no big surprises here. Actually, these three games were probably the ones that cost me the most, as none of them have really gone down in price. I looked for a used copy of Gekka Ryōran Romance (an otome game) for ages and finally settled on a new copy for around $50, only to find a used limited edition for about the same price the very next day!

Now for what I like to call the “Monster Hunter Haul”… Funnily enough, I had only planned on picking up one of the Airu Mura titles, which feature Monster Hunter‘s adorable Felyne characters in an Animal Crossing-like world, but soon after I found G I stumbled on a store that was selling the original title for only $1 new! They also had Monster Hunter Portable 2 for only $1, so against my better judgement I went ahead and bought both. 

Ao no Kiseki and Nayuta no Kiseki, however, were, without a doubt, my biggest random splurges of the trip. For those unfamiliar, they’re both part of what’s known as the The Legend of Heroes series by developer Nihon Falcom, with The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky for the PSP probably being one of the most well-known titles available in English. Well, I know next to nothing about the series aside from the fact that many of my good friends say it’s one of the best JPRG series out there, so when I saw both of these collector’s editions available for relatively cheap, I figured I’d bite. From what I understand, Nayuta no Kiseki is actually more of a spinoff that doesn’t need any prior knowledge of the series to play. Ao no Kiseki, on the other hand, is the second part of the seventh entry in the series and is preceded by Zero no Kiseki, meaning I really need to play that before diving into this one.

Above you can see two PS2 gems I grabbed – the one on the left, Love Com, is the game adaptation of one of my favorite shojo manga series. It seems like it might have some otome game elements, and for less than $5, I couldn’t pass up!

Otometeki Koi Kakumei Love Revo!!, on the other hand, is a title I’ve had my eye on for ages but never picked up. As you can probably guess from the cover, it’s an otome game, but with a twist – Love Revo puts players in the shoes of an overweight girl who wants to return to her thinner “glory days” and win the guy of her dreams. If you think that sounds rather horrible (“Lose weight and you too can get a boyfriend!”), don’t worry, I’m mainly interested in it because I’d like to see how the game handles the weight loss/relationship aspect. I don’t have high hopes, but it could prove to be an amusing train wreck. Again, at $5, I won’t consider it a major loss even if it is awful.

Next up is a little title I’ve been meaning to get my hands on for ages, Boku no Natsuyasumi 2! Well, not this title specifically, but I’ve always wanted to try a Boku no Natsuyasumi game and this is the one I ended up with. I can’t wait to give it a go!

Now these were a great deal – I managed to grab the premium boxes of both Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3: Unmei no Labyrinth and Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 4 for only $10 total! As you can probably tell, they are entries in the same series, which is well known for being one of the few otome games that incorporates RPG elements. While I originally just wanted to pick up 4 due to it having more appealing character designs (to me), when I saw the HaruToki 3 premium box for only $5, I had to snag it, as well.

The unfortunate part of this story is that Unmei no Labyrinth is actually what’s usually referred to as a “gaiden” game, meaning it’s a side story (I believe in this case it takes the characters out of their fantasy world and puts them in a high school setting). I can’t very well play it if I haven’t played the original HaruToki 3! I guess that’s another game to add to my list…

Now here’s a game I wasn’t thinking would pick up at all, but I couldn’t pass it up when I saw a brand new copy of the limited edition on sale for only $3! So into the basket it went. Kanuchi Shiroki Tsubasa no Shou is, as you’ve probably guessed, another otome game. I don’t know much about it aside from the fact that it takes place in a fantasy setting and is broken into two games, with “white” being the first part and “black” being the second part. Since there are a lot of neat goodies in all these limited edition boxes, I’ll do a more in-depth posts on them in the future.

If it isn’t obvious by now, PS2 otome games are extremely cheap and in great abundance! Many of these titles also have PSP versions that generally go for $40 or more and are often only ports or have minor additional content. As such, I highly recommend folks interested in checking out otome games to look for PS2 titles… but be wary of eBay! Otome game prices seem to be hugely inflated there, so I’d suggest going through a friend who can buy second-hand titles from Japan and mail them to you or an import service that will help you buy from sellers on Amazon.co.jp or Yahoo Japan and ship internationally.

fuzzy stegosaurus not included

But guess what? I have one extra copy of the PS2 version of Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 4 to give away to a lucky reader! All you have to do is comment on this post with “I wanna live an otome life!” for an entry into the drawing. If you’d like an additional chance to win, please share this article on Facebook or Twitter and leave me a comment linking to your post! Giveaway runs until Saturday, September 28th at 9 pm EST. Please note you’ll need either a modded PS2 or a Japanese PS2 in order to play the game, but you’re still welcome to enter even you don’t currently the have means to play it.

Well, that’s it for the PlayStation side of my game purchases in Japan… Stay tuned for the significantly smaller Nintendo side of things later this week!

Update: The giveaway is now closed! Congratulations to Chalgyr for winning the random drawing! I’ll be getting in contact with you shortly. And a big thanks to everyone who entered! Keep checking back for more giveaways in the future. 

Introducing the 2013 Beat the Backlog Club

Confession: I buy a lot of games. Okay, you all probably knew that already, but it’s time for me to own up to my massive, unwieldily backlog. Well, that day – I mean, year – has finally come, and I’m going to invite all of you to join in my pain plan! The task, should you choose to accept it? Play (and beat, if possible) one game from your backlog every month for the entirety of 2013.

Year of the snake, year of the backlog! (source)
I figure the only way I’ll ever really make a dent in my overflowing collection of games is to buckle down and force myself to play things, so that’s going to be the ongoing theme of 2013. “2013: Year of the Backlog” has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Of course, you don’t have to literally join me, you could do so in spirit or just follow along as I chronicle my journey and laugh as I try to cram a 20+ hour game into the last weekend of every month (I’m going to pray, for my sanity, that it doesn’t come to this). But, if you’re a fellow game hoarder and have a looming backlog you’d like to conquer, by all means, make it your goal to play at least one of them! The more the merrier! It is a club, after all. (Speaking of which, my friend and fellow blogger The Gay Gamer unwittingly pledged his membership with his recent “Bye-bye backlog” post, so we’re already at a whopping two members) 
There will be just a few (loose) rules: 
1) Each month you must start a new game
2) The game must be one you already own
3) Play as much of the game as you want during the month, but try to push yourself to beat it! 
4) Share your attempts to clear your backlog with others! This can be on social media outlets (Twitter, Facebook), your own personal blog, or in the comments here! 
That’s it! Easy, eh? I really want this challenge to be a fun way for everyone to knock a few games off our backlogs without feeling pressured to reach any certain goals. I plan on writing weekly update posts to keep myself honest about my progress, so I encourage anyone who’s interested in giving the Beat the Backlog Club (or BBC, for short!) a go to comment with your own progress when those posts go live. 
And if you think 12 months sounds a little too overwhelming, why not just start with one and see how it goes? The most important thing is to have fun – I know I won’t be losing (too much) sleep over it if don’t make my monthly goal.

Just a small sample of games I own but haven’t played.
Most of the Wii games were acquired during my trip to the US. 
But a backlog-beating plan isn’t anything without a list of potential game candidates, right? Luckily, I’ve come prepared! Here’s just a sample of some of the games I’m thinking of tackling over the course of the year: Harvest Moon: A New Beginning 3D, Sin & Punishment: Star Successor, Rune Factory Frontier, Ghost Trick, Nier, The Last Story, Muramasa: Demon Blade, Gravity Rush, Fossil Fighters, Atelier Annie, Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love, and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. 
You know what? That looks downright daunting. Some of these games may just be too long to even attempt to complete in a month, so this list is definitely not set in stone. If anyone has any suggestions as to which of these might be most doable in month (I’m thinking ~20 hours long), please let me know in the comments! 
But since it’s already mid-January, I’ve already gotten started on this month’s backlog pick: The Legendary Starfy! Okay, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking you heard me talk about attempting to beat Starfy before, right? Well I did, and just recently, at that! Unfortunately I found myself overwhelmed by other things over the holiday break and didn’t even really attempt to play it or Ghost Trick and Atelier Annie as was originally planned, hence why they’re now on this list. I hope I have enough motivation to make it through them during this challenge! 
So, who’s with me? I know it’s a little late in January already to start playing a game, so if you’re interested in joining in, how about choosing a game you played for a while but never got around to beating? Look forward to an update from me next Monday, and happy gaming!
“Play those games! That’s an order!”