Poka Poka Airou Village DX and the adorable eCapcom tote bag

6 / 1 / 156 / 2 / 15

It goes without saying that the Monster Hunter X (pronounced “cross”) news is amazing and I’m beyond excited to play it when it debuts on 3DS this winter. The other Monster Hunter news that everyone is overlooking, however, is that we’re finally getting a new Monster Hunter Diaries: Poka Poka Airou Village game! Subtitled DX (for “deluxe”) and coming out for the Nintendo 3DS on September 10th, the game looks just as adorable as ever, and comes with a number of exciting new features.

Monster Hunter Diaries: Poka Poka Airou Village DX Felyne Gudetama costume — all images via Famitsu

If you don’t recognize the lazy egg yolk on top of that Felyne’s head, I highly recommend checking out Gudetama, one of my favorite new Sanrio characters. The fact that Monster Hunter Diaries: Poka Poka Airou Village DX announced this collaboration right off the bat is a testament to his immense popularity right now. Oh, and of course there will be a couple Nintendo of collaborations, as well!

Super Easy Splatoon Nail Tutorial

5 / 29 / 158 / 23 / 17

In honor of Splatoon‘s release for the Wii U this week, I thought I would live up to the “chic” in Chic Pixel by trying my hand at a nail tutorial! I’m not very talented at doing intricate nail designs, so I hope this easy nail tutorial (that even I can do!) will inspire some of you to try out your own designs!

For supplies, you’ll need the usual top and base coats, a base color (I used white, but black would really make your ink splatters pop!), and a light and slightly darker shade of the same color for the ink. As you can see, I went with purple (orange, green, blue, etc. would also look great!), but I think my dark shade was a few shades too dark. The design would be even better if you can get two shades that are pretty close to one another!

Finally, you’ll need some instrument to make your dots – I used a bobby pin, but a toothpick also works! Of course, if you have a dotting tool, you can also use that.

Norn9: Var Commons Joins Aksys Games’ Otome Game Lineup

5 / 27 / 15

The year is 2015. In the greatest upset in gaming history, all video games are now otome games. There is nothing else, only otoge.

Okay, I might be going a little overboard here, but when I said I wanted to see more otome games (otoge for short) in English, I never in a million years expected to see three announced in the same year! Is this a dream?! This time, Aksys Games strikes again with Norn9: Var Commons for the PS Vita. Scheduled to release both physically and digitally in North America this fall, Norn 9: Var Commons is once again developed by Otomate, suggesting that Aksys and Otomate have some kind of agreement. Not that I’m complaining, but there actually are other otome game companies besides Otomate out there!

Regardless, I may be most excited for this announcement simply because this is the one otome game coming out in English this year that I don’t already own in Japanese. Shocking, I know! You can read Aksys’ official PlayStation Blog post to get the full rundown, but the most interesting aspects of Norn 9: Var Commons for me is the sci-fi narrative and three different female protagonists! I don’t think I’ve ever played an otome game with more than one protagonist before.

Also, the art is simply gorgeous, which is why I’m going to stop my gushing and end this post with a gallery of some images from the official Japanese website.

Japan Envy: Pokémon Time Eevee Collection

5 / 26 / 15

Who doesn’t love Eevee? The iconic first generation Pokémon has a whopping eight different evolutions, each as adorable as the next. There certainly isn’t a lack of Eevee-related merchandise, but the Pokémon Time’s latest collection is going to capitalize on that cuteness even more in its newest line, the Eievui Collection! Wait… Eievui? You can chalk that up to a weird attempt to romanize the Japanese name, but for sanity’s sake, I’ll be sticking to Eevee. However you spell it, it’s too cute to resist!

The collection launches on June 6th in Pokémon Centers in Japan, with an exclusive tote bag to commemorate the launch available to those who spend over ¥10,000 (about $100) on any items in a Pokémon Center from June 6th through the 14th.

I absolutely love the above photo, which shows how Eevee Collection items can be integrated into your daily life. While the items themselves are not very easy to spot, there are a number of t-shirts, a blanket, and even a backpack featured! Sometimes it’s nice to own nerdy merch that isn’t so in-your-face, wouldn’t you agree?

Here’s another way they’re advertising the items, this time focusing on fashion. I absolutely love the way the products are integrated into the Sylveon girl’s outfit! Let’s take a close look at the merchandise, though, shall we?

Listen to me talk Yoko Shimomura on M Disk Playlist

5 / 23 / 15

I’m always excited to guest on other people’s podcasts, because not only do I get to talk to new people, but I also get a chance to chat about things I might not normally discuss on one of my own shows! I was presented with one such opportunity the other day when I was invited to talk about none other than game composer Yoko Shimomura on episode two of the M Disc Playlist podcast. If you like video game music, please give it a listen!

On the show, host Nitro and I discuss Yoko Shimomura’s extensive video game music history, as well as our five favorite Shimomura tracks. Nitro is extremely knowledgeable about her work, but I make up for my lack of knowledge by bringing my own special, uh… je ne sais quoi, I guess!

Of course, Shimomura is most well known for her work on the Kingdom Hearts series, and if you’re interested reading her discuss her Kingdom Hearts music, I definitely recommend checking out this transcript from her appearance on Square Enix Presents last year. If you’d rather hear the music in action along with some funny commentary, check out Sarah and Roy’s playthrough of Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep! Now there’s a whole bunch of Shimomura-related media to get you through the Memorial Day weekend (if you happen to be in the US).

Now, I want to know – what are some of your favorite Yoko Shimomura tracks?

Fantastic Boyfriends Needs Your Help!

5 / 21 / 155 / 21 / 15

It’s finally happening! Back at the beginning of April, I mentioned that I was working on the translation for a Japanese mobile game aimed at gay men titled Fantastic Boyfriends: Legends of Midearth. Well, the Indiegogo campaign just launched yesterday, and to get the full game localized into English, we need your help!

gordon_fantasticbfs — As I mentioned on latest episode of The Nichiest Podcast Ever, Gordon is one of my favorite characters!

If you’d like to learn more about the game, head over to the Indiegogo page or check out the post I did last month. There’s also an English website, as well as a lovely NeoGAF thread made by a fan that is chock full of information! Even if you don’t have any spare change at the moment, word of mouth is really helpful, so please spread the word about this exciting project!

And, of course, by making a pledge toward Fantastic Boyfriends: Legends of Midearth, you’ll be helping to put food on my table, so don’t forget to leave a comment here so I can personally thank you! I’m sure I’ll be talking about this game a lot more over the coming weeks, so keep your eyes peeled for future updates.

Liebster Award: Strange and Fun Facts About Me

5 / 18 / 15

What a pleasant surprise! My great pal and podcast co-host Bryan of The Gay Gamer has nominated me for a Liebster Award, an act of kindness designed to spread warm fuzzies around the blogging community. Part of the award requires you to answer 11 questions about yourself and share 11 interesting facts before nominating a few other bloggers to do the same (kind of like a nice chain letter!). Since I don’t get too personal very often on Chic Pixel, I thought it’d be a great opportunity for you all to learn a little more about me! Here we go…