Happy Holidays from Chic Pixel!

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all! Thank you so much for reading my ramblings and giving me a reason to post this horribly cute card that I’ve been hanging onto for years.

I probably won’t be posting anything for a day or two, but I would love to hear how you all are going to spend your time off! What games will you be playing, and what are you hoping might be waiting for you  under the Christmas tree tomorrow morning?

I know for a fact that I’ve got Mario Kart 7 waiting for me, and I’m itching to play! As soon as I get it going I’m going to make an official Chic Pixel community, so I hope some of you can play with me!

I’ve got a huuuuge backlog I would love to get started in on, but I’m at the point where I have so many games I’d like to play that I literally feel stuck and don’t know where to start! Since I just got the Wii, I’d like to dig in to Skyward Sword… But honestly, some comments I’ve been hearing about the 5 hour tutorial and frustrating motion controls have given me slight cold feet. Surprisingly, I’ve been playing a lot of Just Dance 2, which came free with my Wii. Er… Yeah.

All I want for Christmas is for you to buy my manga

Hello hello! I’m writing from my snazzy new apartment while sitting in my snazzy new sofa… Everything is so snazzy! We were finally able to put up our holiday decorations (including a mini fake IKEA tree), so I’m finally able to get in a festive mood.

That aside, I’d like to take the opportunity to announce my very first published manga translation! Tweeting Love Birds is a boys’ love manga about a guy who loves baseball… It was a bit of a pain to translate, considering I don’t know baseball terminology in English, let alone Japanese, but it was still a blast to do! And the story isn’t so centered around the sport that people who aren’t interested in it (like me) can’t enjoy it. It’s quite funny! I’m not nearly so eloquent, so here’s the summary my awesome editor whipped up:

“Ohtaka is pissed! University baseball is not what he expected, and it’s all because of Tweetie, the odd little person who blithely chirps and constantly circles in his tall shadow. Everything Tweetie does only deepens Ohtaka’s scowl. His irritation skyrockets when Tweetie demands Ohtaka stay in the baseball club for his sake and steals Ohtaka’s first kiss!

When two people from Tweetie’s past are thrown in Ohtaka’s face, his agitation suddenly turns territorial–and he’s not sure why…

Will Ohtaka figure out this unfamiliar game that plays for keeps? Get ready for a fast pitch of romantic comedy and surprising love in Tweeting Love Birds!”

If you’re at all interested, you can check out a sample of the Kindle version over at Amazon. Even if you don’t have a Kindle, I believe you can download the Kindle reader and read it right on your PC/Mac! And if you’re so inclined, I would love love love it if you could support me and my group (Twitter @BLBangBang). If you’re more of a Nook kind of person, it’s available for that over here!
Of course if you do decide to purchase said manga, please let me know what you think! And tell me that you bought it so I can shower you with lots of love. If you’re at all on the fence about starting a new series, don’t worry, the story ends at volume 2. After my current project I’ll be jumping right in to volume 2, so you should expect to see that out in the next couple of months!
In other news, one of my very favorite craft bloggers, an Aussie lady currently living in Japan known as Hello Sandwich, is in a gift wrap challenge over at the Martha Stewart blog! Wow! If you could be so kind and head over here to vote for her, that’d be great! She really deserves to win; she has such great style sense and her projects are both simple and a lot of fun. Thanks! Be sure to check out her blog if you’re into crafty things, too! 

Contest Winners Announced + Birthday Bash?

Thanks to everyone who entered the holiday contest! With the help of random.org, I have selected our winners!

First up, we have the winner of Crimson Spell volume 1… Bryan Ochalla! Congrats!

Second, the winner of the Arc Rise Fantasia/El Shaddai pack… ftkubota! Yay!

I’ll be contacting you both via email shortly, so keep an eye out for that. Thanks again to everyone else who entered… I’m sorry you couldn’t all win something!

Fossil Fighters!

In other news, today is my birthday! I got my Wii! Fossil Fighters for the DS! It’s a very game-y birthday indeed, just how I like it. Too bad I don’t have any time to play any of these games, what with all the moving we’re doing. We’ll be moving into a big new 2 bedroom apartment this weekend, so there’s a lot of cleaning and organizing to be done… But I won’t bore you with the details. I’ll be back to my regular posting schedule in a few days!

In which I rant about Final Fantasy XIII-2

Okay, I’m generally not much of an angry gamer, but I may come across as one in this recent article I did at GamerANX about my lack of enthusiasm for Final Fantasy XIII-2. I really don’t harbor feelings of intense hatred for the ultra-linear predecessor to the second direct sequel in FF history, I promise! But I do get a little snarky (and poke fun at the new weird bulbous-headed moogles). Give it a read, if you’re interested!

I did do a bit of research for the article, since I haven’t really been keeping up on the news regarding the title. Once I heard Ezio was going to be a DLC costume for the new male lead Noel, I pretty much threw in the towel. I admit that I probably will purchase the game in the future, because in all honesty, the gameplay looks pretty intriguing, but I’m definitely not in a rush. Even a 40/40 from Famitsu will not sway me (which it did get, by the way, and I’m not sure who really puts much faith in those scores anyway, outside of rabid fanboys).

Well, through my research I did stumble on a couple of character design-related annoyances that I would’ve loved to put in the original article, but they just didn’t fit. When you think of absurd costumes, you think of Final Fantasy, right? I thought X was about as weird as it could get, but check this out:

This is Caius Ballad, the main antagonist of XIII-2 and the character you see fighting with Lightening in the first teaser trailer, as well as the game’s logo. There are so many things about this character design that just rub me the wrong way! Honestly, I don’t even know what to say without digging myself an early grave. I am notoriously a fan of Seymour, after all…

What I liked about Seymour and Final Fantasy X (overall), was that the majority of it didn’t seem to take itself too seriously. I mean, who takes Seymour seriously? Or Kuja, for that matter (another favorite FF character of mine). The problem with XIII, and potentially XIII-2, is that it’s taking itself far too seriously, and yet Tetsuya Nomura is churning out silly character designs like these. [edit: It’s come to my attention that I’m not really articulating my point very well. I think my major beef with Caius stems from the fact that his design seems like one big a big mash of character stereotypes. Or maybe I just think he’s ugly?]

And have you heard of Chocolina? When the name first arose, all that was known about her was that she appeared around the world dressed in chocobo-themed clothing selling goods. Me, being the naive gamer I am… I pictured a dorky little girl dressed in full-body chocobo costume. Instead, we get this:

And of course this single image has already spurred dozens of news articles talking about the “hot new shopkeeper” who’ll make “sexy cosplay.” Yay? I should be excited, right?

Naw, I’m just all-around disappointed and throughly unamused by pretty much everything surrounding Final Fantasy XIII-2 at this point. Maybe I’m just grumpy, maybe I’m stuck harboring some metaphorical ideal of what a Final Fantasy game should be, but either way, this game really couldn’t interest me less at this point. I play RPGs for story and characters above all else, and Final Fantasy just isn’t pushing the right buttons anymore. I’m sure the gameplay will be pretty neat, though.

What are your thoughts on Final Fantasy XIII and XIII-2? Are you excited for the sequel?

Chic Pixel Holiday Giveaway!

For a bit of a festive treat, I’d like to take the opportunity to thank both the regular frequenters of Chic Pixel and any newcomers for taking the time to read what I have to say by offering a little giveaway contest. I really appreciate any and all comments and just knowing a handful of you read all the way through my posts makes it worthwhile. 

So what am I giving away, you ask?
Since Chic Pixel really is all about my favorite hobbies (namely BL manga and all sorts of popular and lesser-known video games), I thought I’d do things a little differently by offering not one, but two prizes: 
First up is a copy of volume 1 of Crimson Spell, a BL manga by Ayano Yamane! (contains graphic sex, entrants must be over 18)
The second prize pack is for all the Japanese game enthusiasts out there: choose this option and you’ll get a rare Arc Rise Fantasia pin set and an El Shaddai goodie pack, which includes a pin, illustration card, and a sticker! These were scored by my amazingly cool mom at E3 2010 and 2011, and I’m pretty sure you won’t be able to find them for sale anywhere else.
Entry terms: 
  • Leave a comment on this entry stating which prize pack you’d most like to win (entrants are only eligible to win one or the other). Remember to leave a way for me to contact you!
  • For an additional entry, promote this contest and/or my blog via Twitter, Facebook, or however you’d like! Just leave a comment every time you tweet/post about it so I can keep track of your entries! (maximum of 5 additional entries)
  • Contest is open to anyone in the world and closes promptly on Friday, December 9th at 9 pm EST 
Good luck! 

NISA Announces House of Five Leaves Premium Edition

So, what if I told you I was spending my Saturday evening in an internet cafe with my husband? What if I also said he was playing DotA (yeah, people still play that…) while I was downloading oodles and oodles of games (on Steam, legally, of course)? I bet you’d think we were the coolest cats you ever laid eyes upon… Right?
Anyways, on to more interesting things… It’s a little-known fact that NIS America, the publishing company well known for localizing the Disgaea series and the many varied Atelier titles also dabbles in anime. Their most recent anime-related announcement is close to my heart because it’s none other than a Natsume Ono series (you migtht remember the post I did recently on one of her manga one-shots).

This House of Five Leaves complete series collection is just gorgeous, in my opinion. Not only do you get the whole series on 2 DVDs, but you get an art book, as well! If you’re unfamiliar with the series, here’s what NISA has to say about it (since I’m not feeling very creative this Saturday night):
“House of Five Leaves follows a story of a ronin Masanosuke, working as a bodyguard in Edo. Because of his shy personality, he kept being let go from his bodyguard jobs despite his magnificent swords skills. While he was wandering around town he met a man, the playboy who calls himself Yaichi. He hired Masanoseuke as his bodyguard. Masanosuke soon finds out that Yaichi is the leader of a group of kidnappers who call themselves the ‘Five Leaves.’ The story unfolds as Masanosuke deals with his dilemma and the suspense surrounding the Five Leaves.”
I watched about half of the series streamed online a while back, and I have to say I really liked what I saw. For those of you really into action and like things fast-paced, this show probably isn’t for you, but fans of Natsume Ono or those looking for something a little different should definitely consider giving it a watch. I know I, for one, will be eagerly awaiting the premium edition’s launch in March!
The art book looks really great, and is a must for collectors and fans of Ono’s work.

Unboxing Ni no Kuni: Shikkoku no Madoushi

So, as many of you have probably heard (and are beyond excited for, I’m sure), Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch will be seeing an English release sometime early next year. Well, unfortunately, the Nintendo DS version of Ni no Kuni will not probably be as lucky – it’s been out for just about a year now in Japan and no word as surfaced as to a potential localization.

I’ve been lamenting on how difficult it is to obtain a copy of said game (it’s available online, but generally runs around $80+), and have been coveting it for a long time due to the famous book it comes with. From what I’d read, the book is an integral part of the game, and that’s probably a big part of the reason why Level 5 (or whoever is in charge of localizations) decided not to bring the game over to the US.

Well, thanks to my great Twitter friend Zolbrod who lives in Japan, I’ve now got myself a complete copy of Ni no Kuni DS! It was used, but it only set me back about $25. Well, shipping was killer due to the size of the book, but it still ended up being about half what I would’ve paid online! Thanks again, Zolbrod!

I haven’t gotten a chance to play the game yet, but rest assured, I will be making a full report soon! For now, here are some sample pictures of the set and a few excerpts from the gorgeous book.

The box that holds the book and game.
When they say book, they mean book!

There are so many gorgeous illustrations!
The book contains full lists of spells, weapons, and a bestiary –  there are so many cute enemies. It looks like they each have 4 forms, one for each element. 
Why’s there a tire in the bottom right?

The book also contains a number of maps, as well as detailed history and other lore. 

And, of course, game itself.

I can’t wait to sink my teeth into this game! Expect a full report in the next few weeks.