The 2016 Monster Hunter Community Game-Along

2 / 29 / 162 / 29 / 16

It’s finally time for the 3rd annual Monster Hunter Community Game-Along! I originally dedicated a month to Monster Hunter and the various hunting games the series has inspired back in 2014 for its 10th anniversary, but now it’s become a mainstay of my Community Game-Alongs together with JRPG July. If you’re not a fan of Monster Hunter, never fear, as any hunting-like game is eligible for this month’s theme. So grab your title of choice, and let’s get hunting!

If you’re on social media, you can share your experiences with your chosen title or recommend games to other participants using #MonMonth. I’m always following along, so you just might get featured!

Aside from the obvious Monster Hunter games, there are a handful of other titles from Freedom Wars to Bloodborne that would count for this month’s theme. You can head over to my original MonMonth post for some suggestions, but here are a couple more recent picks that you might like to try!

Final Fantasy Explorers (3DS) – This is the Monster Hunter game for Final Fantasy fans! While it takes a lot of inspiration from Monster Hunter, it doesn’t have nearly as steep a learning curve, making it a great first foray into this style of game. Plus, you can dress your character up like iconic Final Fantasy characters! Since this was recently released, it should still be getting a lot of action online.

Toukiden Kiwami (PS4, Vita) – The sequel to Toukiden: The Age of Demons, Kiwami is a great pick if Japanese folklore-inspired monsters are more up your alley. It’s about as close as we’ll get to playing a current-gen Monster Hunter game on a home console for the time being, too. Luckily, it’s a very solid hunting game from the Dynasty Warriors crew.

As for me, I’m going to finally attempt to play MonHan Nikki: Poka Poka Airou Mura DX, a cute Monster Hunter spinoff game for the 3DS featuring the adorable cat critters known as felynes. Let’s see if I actually find time to dedicate to it!

Swooning Over: Odin Sphere Leifthrasir Famitsu DX Edition

2 / 27 / 16

Odin Sphere is one of the most gorgeous games I’ve ever played, so of course I was thrilled when I learned about Odin Sphere Leifthrasir‘s super special (and super exclusive) Famitsu DX Edition. So thrilled, in fact, that I paid about $110 for the game, art book, wall scroll, calendar, coasters, and mug, making it the most expensive video game limited edition I’ve ever purchased! Well, I finally received my copy this month, and I just had to share some photos…

Sunday Spotlight: Davitsu

2 / 21 / 162 / 21 / 16

I just realized there has been a definite lack of awesome pixel art in my Sunday Spotlight, and that totally has to change! That’s why this week I’m highlighting Davitsu, a very talented pixel artist who has even worked on a couple of games you can download and play for free right now!

Be sure check out Davitsu’s Octoling pixel art, as well as this rad Undertale GameBoy Advance mockup. And give Scarlett Witch (pictured above) and this Amstrad CPC game demo Tip Top a go while you’re at it!

You can follow Davitsu on Twitter and Instagram, or find even more games at the Rantan Games website. I’m dying to whip out my GameBoy micro thanks to all of this awesome pixel art!

Help BL Game Seiyuu Danshi on Kickstarter!

2 / 18 / 16

Kickstarter has seen a lot of visual novels, and even a few otome games, but BL games have not seen a lot of activity in the crowdfunding department. Luckily for fans of the genre, there’s a new indie BL game in town, Seiyuu Danshi, and they have already met their first Kickstarter goal! But that doesn’t mean they can’t use more help, which is why the developer, Meyaoi Games, asked me to share it with you today.

What I love about Seiyuu Danshi is that it’s a a BL visual novel/dating sim that actually puts the “sim” in dating simulation! You control an up-and-coming voice actor and have the ability to choose what training he goes to, what he should do in his spare time, and even what he wears on dates. These mechanics are very reminiscent of one of my favorite otome game series, Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side, but as far as I know have never been coupled with an 18+ BL game (it even has a system called “foreplay mode”). You can check out a demo of the first two weeks of the game, but take it from me, the production quality of Seiyuu Danshi is top notch!

Even if you’re prepared to back Seiyuu Danshi on the premise alone, I highly recommend playing the demo for amusing tidbits like the screenshot above. Meyaoi Games is just a team of two sisters, but the care they put into the current build of the game and the special Kickstarter demo really shows! By bringing the game to Kickstarter, however, they will be able to hire additional team members to assist with updating the art, music, and more.

As mentioned previously, the Kickstarter has already reached a number of its goals, including a stretch goal for voice acting, but there are a lot of interesting stretch goals that it still has room to reach in the remaining month. You can get a digital copy of the game for just $20, so if you need more BL in your life, go check out the demo and show them your support!

Sunday Spotlight: Hobby Luv

2 / 15 / 16

This week’s Sunday Spotlight is a little late for those of you on my side of the world, but luckily my internet came through just in time to get it in while it’s still Sunday somewhere! Today I’d like to share another adorable blog that you’re sure to enjoy if you frequent Chic Pixel. Nozomi has been blogging in Spanish about anime, manga, figures, and more over at Fangirl Ninja for 4 years, and she has just launched Hobby Luv as a companion site for her English speaking friends, making it a great recommendation for Chic Pixel readers!

While I highly recommend browsing through Fangirl Ninja with the help of Google Translate due to the sheer amount of posts Nozomi has published over the past 4 years, Hobby Luv is already off to a great start. There’s a neat look at Backstage Pass for the Dating Sim Community Game-Along, which includes some updated impressions after Nozomi played the game multiple times through. It’s not often people write about how their experiences with media change over time, but it’s always so interesting to read!

You can also follow Nozomi on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

New Otome Game Kickstarter Coming from Otomate and Gloczus, Inc.

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Exciting news for otome game fans! Otomate World announced today on their Facebook page that they are teaming up with Gloczus, Inc. for an upcoming Kickstarter to localize one of their otome games into English. Though the title is still a secret, it will be “a hugely popular otome title which was previously released exclusively in Japan.” So, what could it be? It’s time to get speculating!

Previously, Gloczus, Inc. has been in charge of English iOS/Android versions of Hakuoki and Amnesia: Memories, while Aksys Games and Idea Factory International were in charge of the original English Vita releases. Following this logic, it would make sense that the Kickstarter would be for the English localization of an Otomate game currently available or slated to release on mobile platforms.

Looking at Otomate’s Japanese mobile game portal, there have been numerous ports of Amnesia and Hakuoki titles, but given their official statement, I would be very surprised if the Kickstarter were for a fan disc for a series already available in English. Similarly, though Norn9: Var Commons has an iOS/Android port, we’ve already seen the game come out in English for the Vita. Hiiro no Kakera has already been released in English on iOS/Android as part of NTT Solmare’s Shall We Date? series, under the title Scarlet Fate. [Update: The English Scarlet Fate is Hiiro no Kakera 4. Thanks Aunna for the clarification!] That leaves us with…

Moujuutsukai to Oujisama ~Flower and Snow~! This is the only title in Otomate’s current mobile game lineup that fits the “never released before in English” bill. On top of that, the Japanese iOS/Android release was only just announced for this winter, so it would make a lot of sense for Glozcus, Inc. to do a corresponding English Kickstarter. If I were a betting woman, I’d put my money on Moujuutsukai! Of course, if Glozcus, Inc. is actually planning a Vita release or an all new mobile port for the Kickstarter, than all bets are off (though it’ll probably be the immensely popular Diabolic Lovers, if that’s the case!).

Keep an eye on the Otomate World Facebook page for the Kickstarter launch in the next few days, and we’ll see if my guess is correct! [Update: I was right! The Beastmaster and Prince – Flower and Snow – Kickstarter is now live, though it will be a PC release instead of mobile. Go check it out for all the details!]

Sunday Spotlight: Miski

2 / 7 / 16

My first encounter with Miski’s adorable art was a t-shirt design at Yetee depicting a Snorlax in a sundae. That’s right, a Snorlax in a sundae! Of course I bought one immediately, and it soon became one of my favorite tops. Since then, I’ve become a huge fan of Miski’s work. While she’s already very well known, I wanted to make sure that I shared them with you all for this week’s Sunday Spotlight!

Not only that, but this is a great opportunity to let you all know that I’m now a Society6 curator, which means that any products you purchase from the site help support Chic Pixel! Miski sells everything from Sylveon sweets tote bags to mugs featuring Splatoon‘s adorable duo Callie and Marie, so if you enjoy the art featured here, I highly encourage you to check out her Society6 store!

You can find Miski on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr. Be sure to follow her to keep up to date on when her new t-shirt designs debut on Yetee!