The Complete 2017 Community Game-Along Schedule

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Another year, another 12 themes for the Community Game-Along! This is my forth year hosting this event, which was started to help encourage people to play more varied games (or check something off that backlog!). All you need to do to participate is play a game that fits the theme and share your experiences on your social media, blog, or elsewhere! Each month there will be an announcement post with game suggestions and the official hashtag to use. If you like to plan ahead, here’s the full list and official hashtags for the year!

January – Dating sims #DatingSiMonth
February – Fashion games (suggested by @vanishingage) #FashionGameFeb
March – Monster Hunter-likes #MonMonth
April – Grasshopper Manufacture #GrassManMonth
May – Intelligent Systems #IntelligentSystemsMonth
June – Puzzle games #PuzzleGameMonth
July – JRPGs #JRPGJuly
August – Mech games #MechMonth
September – Strategy games #SRPGSeptember
October – Horror games #HorrorGameOctober
November – Visual novels #VNNovember
December – Michiru Yamane #MichiruYamaneMonth

I hope you see some themes you’d like to participate in this year!

OyatsuBox Bonanza! [October – December 2016 Review Roundup]

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I’ve fallen way behind on my monthly OyatsuBox Japanese snack subscription box reviews, so instead of playing catch-up, I thought it would be fun to do one massive review of the last three months of 2016! Seeing the October, November, and December 2016 boxes laid out side by side in the same post is also a great way to quickly compare how the service fares from month to month. Hopefully this post can help you decide how long you want to subscribe if you’re on the fence!

As always, the following impressions are of the standard OyatsuBox, which costs $25 per month and contains 10-14 items, including a variety of snacks, chocolate, and one gachapon. My previous OyatsuBox reviews have all been very positive, but they’ve added something that makes it even easier to recommend than before – a list containing the ingredients of every snack in the box! Now folks who can’t read the Japanese labels will have a better idea what they’re eating, which is always a good thing.

Thoughts on the Nintendo Switch and Niche Games

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Occasionally I write articles for sites that aren’t my own (gasp!), and last week I had the opportunity to write my own particular spin on the recent Nintendo Switch news explosion for ZAM.com. The most appealing aspects of the Switch for me are that it 1. is region free and 2. already has a bunch of “niche” games in development (think funky JRPGs, import-only titles, and revivals of forgotten favs), so I combined them into a piece on 3 reasons why the Nintendo Switch has the potential to be a great system for niche game fans. For the third reason, and some elaboration on why those things are so exciting to me, head over to ZAM and read my piece!

I definitely have a lot of additional thoughts on the Nintendo Switch that didn’t fit the scope of the article, which I discuss in detail with my podcast cohost Sarah on an upcoming episode of Chic Pixel Plus. In the meantime, I’ll be honest and say the promise of games in the future is not enough for me to purchase a console day one, so I don’t envision myself getting a Switch anytime soon. Plus, I’ve made one of my personal goals to finish 5 games in my free time this year (i.e. not for review), so I have plenty of things in my backlog to work on!

I would love to know: are you planning on getting a Nintendo Switch day one? What games are you most looking forward to? Leave your thoughts in the comments! And if you haven’t preordered one yet, grab yours at Amazon, a Chic Pixel affiliate, to help support the site!

Fan Campaigns for More Gatchaman Crowds Nendoroids

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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!

January 2017 Community Game-Along: Dating Sim Games

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Happy New Year! I’m planning on doing a Chic Pixel-style year in review post in the next week or so highlighting some of my favorite media from 2016, but since this is my first official post of 2017, I just want to say thank you to everyone who has read, commented on, and/or shared my posts over the past year! Your support means the world to me!

If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll know that the Community Game-Along is back for another year full of themed gaming months, starting with the return of #DatingSiMonth for the month of January. Since I’ve done the dating sim Community Game-Along twice now, I’ll refer you to my previous posts for ideas on what titles to play. But if this is your first time participating in a Game-Along event, read on for details on how to join in the fun!

Visiting the Melbourne Kit Kat Chocolatory

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I’m something of a fiend when it comes to special Kit Kat flavors, to the extend that there was no way I was going to miss the Kit Kat Chocolatory in Tokyo when I was there last in 2014. When I heard they opened another location in Melbourne, Australia, back in October, I knew I had to make the pilgrimage! Luckily, I had the perfect excuse when I was down for an academic conference earlier this month. Read on for a full report!