I always love hearing about new visual novel fundraising projects, especially when they’re otome or BL games. That’s why, when the folks behind the psychological otome game Silent Voices asked if I could write a post about their Kickstarter, I was happy to oblige!
If you’ve been following Chic Pixel for a while, you know I love all things cute and nerdy. It’s pretty much one of my life goals at this point to surround myself with as many things that fit into those categories as possible! I also feel it’s really important to support independent artists who create awesome, unique products, so I’m always on the lookout for cool new creators on the internet. That’s why I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve teamed up with TeePublic to offer a curated storefront featuring all my favorite designs from artists such as miski, Paulina Ganucheau, and more!
The impressive 12 in 1 gaming console Retro Freak has finally been released in Europe exclusively through retro game retailer Funstock.co.uk at a retail price of £169.99 ($208.54) for the standard version! Developed by Japanese company CYBERGadget, Retro Freak supports physical cartridges from 12 retro video game systems: PC engine, TruboGrafix-16, Super Grafx, NES, Famicom, SNES, Super Famicom, SEGA Genesis, SEGA Mega Drive, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance. In addition, games can be installed to an SD card to be played off the console without the need of a cartridge, meaning you don’t have to be constantly swapping out cartridges or cluttering up your living room with the aftermath of your latest gaming session. To put it mildly, I’m very intrigued!
MangaGamer is celebrating Valentine’s Day with up to 50% off a number of their visual novels! It’s VNtines, get it? (I do love some good word play)
Titles on sale include the otome game OZMAFIA!! (check out my review impressions!), BL game No, Thank You!!!, yuri game Kindred Spirits on the Roof, and many more. They’ve also whipped up some adorable Valentine’s Day cards from all three games, plus a few extra! You can download them for free to hand out to your pals here.
MangaGamer’s VNtines sale ends on February 17th, so there’s plenty of time to line up a game to spend Valentine’s Day with!
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Gatchman Crowds was one of my favorite anime that aired in 2013, so when I heard Good Smile Company was making Nendoroids of two of the main characters, Hajime and Utsutsu, I was thrilled! I finally got my hands on the Utsutsu Nendoroid last year, and seeing it in person confirmed that illustrator Kinako’s character designs look absolutely amazing in Nendoroid form.
Unfortunately, however, Good Smile Company has yet to announce any further Gatchaman Crowds Nendoroid releases beyond Hajime and Utsutsu, which is a shame because there are so many other iconic characters in the series! I’m not the only one who thinks this should happen, as user Dhamaphorn has started campaigning across social media asking fellow Gatchaman Crowds fans to submit requests for more Nendoroids to GSC through their online form. What sets this campaign apart, however, is that Dhamaphorn has created her own mockup Gatchaman Crowds Nendoroid designs to increase interest, and they look amazing!
If there’s one thing I’ll never get enough of, it’s Alice in Wonderland, so when I heard there was a new otome game on Kickstarter inspired by Lewis Carroll’s classic book, I just had to check it out! On top of that, A Very Important Date is a romance visual novel that takes place in a café, which is another tick on the “things Anne absolutely loves” list!
I had a look at the demo, which contains the prologue and three chapters each for two different character routes. The premise immediately struck me as something of a mix between OZMAFIA!! and Alice in the Country of Heart, so if you’re a fan of either of those games, definitely check it out! While the characters generally fall into certain common archetypes (the strict stoic guy, cool suave guy, pervy guy, etc.), the designs are fun and evoke Alice in Wonderland in subtle ways. Stretch goals for the campaign include additional girl x girl and boy x boy romance options, which would be great to see!
I recommend trying the demo for PC, Mac, and Linux first, and then heading over to the Kickstarter page for details on all the reward tiers. The game is also currently on Steam Greenlight and could use some upvotes! The Kickstarter is looking to raise $11,000 by January 5th, so be sure to get your pledge in before then if you’re interested.
I fully accept responsibility for being a little late on this one, but better late than never when it comes to exciting new otome game localization announcements! To my complete and utter surprise, Hyakka Hyakurou: Sengoku Ninpouchou, an otome game released for the PS Vita in Japan this past February, will be getting an English release! It will be published by D3 Publisher and Red Entertainment as Nightshade for Steam, so that unfortunately means no PS Vita version, but it’s awesome none the less!