Gushing Over the Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn Collector’s Edition

Since the big 2.1 patch just launched today for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, I figured now would be the best time to finally show off the Collector’s Edition of the game I snagged back in September. Anyone who follows me on Twitter probably remembers my slow descent into madness as I became hooked on the game during the open beta weekend and then proceeded to decide at the very last minute that I had to have a copy of the physical collector’s edition. Of course, they were sold out nearly everywhere, including Square Enix’s online store, but I managed to snag a preorder of the PC version from a European store. Let me tell you, it was well worth it!

The whole package comes with a slip cover featuring art by none other than Final Fantasy veteran Yoshitaka Amano. The box itself has the same illustration but without any text covering it, which is a great touch if you’re a fan. I have to admit that I would’ve preferred a different illustration inside, such as the one featured on the Japanese box art, since Akihiko Yoshida did so many great pieces for the game, but there’s plenty of that in the art book that comes with the set.

Here are the complete contents of the collector’s edition! The game comes with special box art unique to the set and also contains a blu-ray titled The Waning of the Sixth Sun. Admittedly, I only popped it in my PS3 to check it out for a few minutes the day it arrived and haven’t looked back since (I blame it on being too absorbed with the game), but it contains detailed history of Eorzea, including concept art and all the cutscenes from the original game, making it a great way to catch up on the story as it stands at the start of A Realm Reborn. If you’re interested in seeing the contents of the disc for yourself, someone has predictably uploaded it on YouTube. 
The little device at the bottom of the picture is handy security token that can be linked to your account as an added measure against hackers. Since my account was frozen on two different occasions in the first couple weeks after the game went live due to “suspicious activity,” I’m definitely glad to have this! I’ve had no further problems since I’ve linked it to my account. 

Here’s a better look at the art cards included with the set. I’ll readily admit that these are quite underwhelming – again, I would have much preferred some of Akihiko Yoshida’s gorgeous art to put on my wall.

The CD that comes in the collector’s edition, titled Sounds of Eorzea: Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn Special Soundtrack, isn’t a full soundtrack, but rather a sample of six tunes from the main locations in the game, and the art on the cover reflects this. Still, it clocks in at just over 50 minutes and features some truly iconic themes from the game, so needless to say I utterly adore it. I was astonished to learn the composer, Masayoshi Soken, hasn’t done a full-scale Final Fantasy game before, though he’s been with Square Enix since 2001. I hope we see more of his work in the near future!

The real gem of the collector’s edition, though, is the art book:

It’s a hefty hardcover book that more than accounts for the size of the collector’s edition box, and is filled with tons of amazing illustrations like the ones pictured above! Akihiko Yoshida, who also did Bravely Default, is one of my favorite artists right now, so this book was a real treat. I especially like the crafting gear pictured above.

There are also pages featuring an illustration for each class and job, along with a few choice weapons. I just love the enthusiastic Mi’qote gladiator!

There are only a select few monster designs amidst the environment and scenery illustrations, but I’m glad they included what they did. I’ll go on the record for saying that I’m not totally sold on Final Fantasy XIV‘s version of Cactuars (top right), though.

One of my favorite pages in the book is this selection of Lodestone illustrations. The Lodestone is the game’s official online hub where news and events are announced, so it goes without saying that it gets a few special seasonal illustrations to promote various in-game events. The Christmas one at the bottom right with the characters dressed as reindeers is too cute!

I have to say, I’ve been generally down on collector’s editions of games, as they tend to be a waste of money for me, but if more companies did collector’s editions like Square Enix has for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, then I’d be hooked! They’ve just announced there will be a separate collector’s edition for the PlayStation 4 version of the game, too… I may need an intervention!

5 songs to get you in the holiday spirit, Chic Pixel style!

When it comes to festive winter tunes, I usually tend toward traditional carols and hymns (which I find rather odd, considering I’m not religious). But any self-respecting nerd has some anime and game songs in their holiday repertoire, right? Here are a few of my favorites:

Before I go any further, though, I’m going to be honest… there aren’t many good anime Christmas songs. In fact, I avoid most of them like the plague. There are, however, two Sailor Moon Christmas albums that really must be in every anime fan’s library. They’re simply that good! My personal favorite is the first track on the Sailor Moon Sailor Stars album, “Sailor Moon Christmas.” It’s both goofy and original, making it stand out in the endless sea of “Jingle Bells” covers.

Now Pokémon Christmas Bash is a classic CD in the so-bad-it’s-almost-good category. This song, with the uninspired title “The Christmas Song,” stands out for being the only English song on my list, but since it’s Pokémon-related, I think it counts. Any Christmas song featuring the English Team Rocket voice cast is an instant winner in my book, but “I’m Giving Santa a Pikachu This Christmas,” which is sung by Professor Oak, is also pretty priceless, so I’m going to have to insist you give that one a listen if you haven’t heard it already, as well.

I know there are a million and one “snow area” themes from various games, but when winter rolls around I always turn to “Buried in Snow,” the Great Glacier/Icicle Inn theme from Final Fantasy VII. It’s a melancholy tune that really captures the feeling of being out in a seemingly endless snowstorm. Now that I’m in steamy Australia where snow is but a dream, it’s a tune that really reminds me of winters in Vermont.

Now, I know less about THE IDOLM@STER than I do Hatsune Miku, but what I do know is that this Christmas song, “Merry,” is rather catchy! Unfortunately, it features a rather boring opening and doesn’t really get going until 0:40, but if you’re looking for a toe-tapping Christmas tune, this one’s pretty solid!

To wrap up my list of “holiday” tunes, here’s a song that doesn’t really have anything to do with the season aside from the fact that the anime it appears in, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Endless Waltz, takes place around Christmas, and it has “white” in the title. Regardless, “White Reflection” is one seriously catchy tune, so I’ll dub it the Die Hard entry of this holiday music roundup.

I wish I could say I had tons more anime/game-related holiday music in my arsenal, but sadly the Sailor Moon Christmas albums are where I get most of my holiday anime cheer! If you have a favorite winter theme from a video game or Christmas-y anime song I’ve missed, be sure to share it in the comments!

Judging a Game by its Box: Harvest Moon 3D: A New Beginning

The other day, I happened to be browsing the shelves of my local game store (as one does), and I happened upon a curious sight. See, when you’re as obsessive about stopping by the game store every time you go out as I am, you generally know what to expect, so a box that looks out of the ordinary usually jumps out right away. Well, in this case, I was blown away by how appealing a certain game cover looked…

Why, it’s Harvest Moon 3D: A New Beginning! But instead of the ugly anime boy and girl on the Japanese and North American covers, this one’s covered in an adorable farm animal pattern! I must admit, I’m a little disappointed at the fact that I already own the North American version, as I totally would buy this one for the cover alone! Yes, the Harvest Moon logo itself is still garish and horrible, but I definitely think the European cover of Harveset Moon 3D: A New Beginning is a major step up. Here’s the North American version:

Oh look, some farmers and animals. Something really irks me about this illustration style! The animals themselves are cute and all, but their pastel shading style (which I prefer, actually) totally clashes with the darker colors used on the boy and girl in the foreground. Though the Japanese cover uses much of the same assets, it’s a definite improvement:

The logo still isn’t the greatest game logo I’ve ever seen, but it’s still a huge step up from the English Harvest Moon logo. The characters also look like they fit into the overall image more, which has me convinced that they decided to amp up the saturation for the North American cover for whatever reason. My favorite part about the Japanese cover, though, is that the logo is located at the bottom and is surrounded by all sorts of lovely flowers and vegetables!

It’s not usually the case, but I think this time the European cover steals the show for having the best design, with the Japanese cover coming in at a close second. I have a feeling I may be in the minority, though, especially since there are definitely some weird things about it, but basically it comes down to the fact that I just adore patterns and cute animals. Now, this reminds me that I should finally dig into my copy of the game…

Taste Test: Funghi Chiroru and Cola Gummies

It’s been many a moon (a year and a half, to be exact) since I last did a Taste Test post, and since I have a massive haul of nifty treats from my trip to Japan back in June, it’s high time I started writing about them! Today I figured I’d focus on some of the Nameko (Funghi)*-related candies I picked up.

On the left we have cola-flavored Nameko gummies, and on the right are Nameko and Strawberry Nameko Chiroru. While the gummies themselves are pretty self-explanatory, Chiroru Choco (proper name Tirol) are basically small square chocolates that are actually rather popular in Japan though I’ve managed to go nearly 26 years without ever having tried one.

As always, the packaging adorable. I’d ask you to excuse all the gratuitous packaging shots, but hopefully you’re reading this because you like this sort of thing, too!

I love the attention to detail – what a neat design along the bottom of the bag!

The back of the bag has a Nameko assuring you that the Chiroru are delicious.

The packaging on the individually-wrapped chocolates is appropriately cute, as well. The yellow package contains mitarashi dango-flavored Chiroru, which is a type of traditional Japanese sweet, while the red is a basic strawberry. Upon biting into the strawberry Chiroru, however, I was surprised to find a small biscuit in the middle! The mitarashi dango ones, however, had an interesting gooey consistency inside.

Not very exciting, but here’s what the strawberry Chiroru look like. Too bad they couldn’t have printed a Nameko picture on the actual Chiroru themselves! The mitarashi dango has the exact same design, except the chocolate is more of a tannish color. Both were tasty, but I prefer the mitarashi dango flavor just because it’s a tad more “exotic.” It doesn’t really have a strong chocolatey flavor, and the gooey consistency inside makes it resemble the actual candy it’s made to taste like, making it quite the experience! Unfortunately I probably wouldn’t say it tastes a whole lot like actual mitarashi dango, but I don’t eat them very often…

Now the Nameko gummies aren’t something I would normally go after since they’re cola favored… “nfu nfu namekola” flavored, to be exact. Basically I love a good pun and the fact that the gummies were actually shaped like various types of Nameko, so I figured I’d give it a shot even though soda candy is usually not my thing.

If you’re lucky, you might get a rare type of Nameko gummy! (there are six shapes total)

Gotta love the different Nameko on the sides of the bag. I would’ve thought they’d show all the possible gummy shapes, but I only see three different Nameko there…

As for the contents of the bag, I was sorely disappointed! They only give you eight measly gummies! Granted it wasn’t that expensive, but it was a bit of a shock to open a bag the size of my hand only to find it not even a third full.

It’s a bit hard to tell, but it looks like I’ve got three different Nameko gummy variations – the “normal” Nameko, creepy toothy smile Nameko, and the cat Nameko. Isn’t it odd that that’s exactly the types of Nameko pictured on the side of the bag?! I wonder what the other three gummy types are? I guess they went and only put the most common variations on the actual packaging, but I can’t believe anyone would buy more just to see all the different shapes.

The gummies themselves were surprisingly tasty, as the cola flavor wasn’t all that pronounced. I don’t think I’d buy them again, though, as the consistency was a bit harder than I like in a gummy. In the end, I definitely prefer the flavor of the Chiroru, but the actual gummy candies themselves are more interesting to look at. Because clearly candy is meant to be looked at, not eaten…

Stay tuned for more weird Chic Pixel food logic in more upcoming Taste Test posts!

*Every time I write a post about Nameko/Funghi, I can’t decide whether I should use its Japanese name or English name. Funghi may be more well known to English-speaking folks, but I think Nameko sounds better!

Sapporo Snow Festival and Snow Miku 2014

For the past few years, I’ve been vaguely aware of the virtual Vocaloid idol sensation Hatsune Miku, but never thought much of her or her music. After recently starting Hatsune Miku Project Diva F and buying a Nendoroid of another Vocaloid singer, Gakupoid, I can finally say that I have more than a passing interest Miku and her Vocaloid friends. 

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Since the northern hemisphere is entering winter, it’s the perfect time for the annual Snow Miku unveiling! For four years, Snow Miku has been a fixture and unofficial mascot of sorts for the Sapporo Snow Festival held in February, with her adorable face adorning everything from tram cars to snow sculptures in the city in northern Japan. After fans grew frustrated with the “recycled” designs that were the first three Snow Mikus, they decided to leave her design up to the fans themselves. 
For Snow Miku’s 5th anniversary, the theme was “magical girl,” and fans ultimately decided on the witch-like design featured above. Interestingly, the Miku and animal familiar designs were created by different artists and selected separately, but I think they look lovely together! But I’m a sucker for magical girls and rabbits, it’s true. 
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Trams with this year’s Snow Miku design will be running through Sapporo now through March in honor of the festival. The recorded announcements on the tram were even done by the Hatsune Miku voice actress, Saki Fujita, herself! 
There will also be “live” Hatsune Miku performances in February featuring the 3D design pictured above. I’m not sure I quite understand the appeal of watching a projection of an anime girl singing and dancing, but it’s interesting, none the less. 
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Of course, the big draw for me is the exclusive Snow Miku Nendoriod that Good Smile Company will be releasing in conjunction with the Snow Festival in February. Isn’t she adorable?! 
Usually Nendoroids come with a variety of facial expressions, posing options, and accessories. Here it looks like Miku is performing some kind of magical attack. I love the detail put into the base! 
Of course, it’s not all about Hatsune Miku. Her other Vocaloid friends have gotten some festive designs, as well… 
The free texting app LINE has even released some new Vocaloid stickers, though they’re not in celebration of the Sapporo Snow Festival in particular. They’re not only available for the Japanese version of the app, but the North American version, too, so if this post has made you just a little Miku crazy (like me), they may be able to satiate you! 

Final Fantasy XIV Lightning Strikes Chapters 2 + 3 Tutorial and Impressions

Leave it to the lady writing the tutorials to forget the actual dates the new chapters of the Lightning Strikes Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn event started! It feels like just as I was posting my impressions of chapter one, chapter two was going up, and before I knew it, chapter three was out, too! But since the formula of each chapter is pretty predictable, it makes sense to combine these two middle chapters into one. Yeah, that’s it, I was planning it all along…

Vega Knuckles 

First, here’s a shot of the Pugilist weapon that I got from chapter one of the event. They look pretty neat/massive, but as I mentioned in the last post, they’re too low level to be useful.

To participate in chapter two, players must complete the chapter one quest “For the Winsome” and be level 26 or above. The quest NPC for chapter two, “Seeking the Scoop,” is Dural Thural and can be found in Uldah, Steps of Nald (X:11, Y:8).

Looks like news of Lightning is spreading across Eorzea like a wildfire, and all the reporters want the best story! After accepting the quest, it’s off to Little Ala Mhigo in Southern Thanalan (X:21, Y:11) or Highbridge, Eastern Thanalan (X:28, Y:26). In both cases, the Lightning FATEs are unique to the event and will be titled “Lightning Strikes – Armored Beast.” 

I had the wonderful luck of forgetting that my inventory was full when I did the FATE, so I wasn’t able to receive the item the first time I completed it (for the record, the very first time the FATE spawned I was too busy trying to get screenshots to even participate). Since it takes a good 30 minutes for the FATEs to appear, I was rather grumpy at this revelation.

Luckily Mog had my back once again and got a really great screenshot of the beast in this FATE! But “Armored Beast,” really? Can’t we think of a cooler name? Anyway, I’m glad they brought in an enemy from the Final Fantasy XIII universe, as it makes things a bit more interesting.

After I went and got rid of some items in my inventory, I decided to hop over to Little Ala Mihgo to try the FATE there. The beast you fight is the same, but I love this shot I got of my baby imp minon with Lightning! It was fun to see people follow her as she waked away after the FATE was completed.

This time around, you only need the one Strange Otherworldly Parcel to complete the quest. Unfortunately, the chapter two parcels can not be redeemed for the weapons with the NPC who stands next to the chapter one quest-giver, which means folks who were hoping to accumulate parcels to trade for weapons over the course of the four event chapters will be out of luck. You can only get them from the chapter one FATE! 
And there’s my reward… Snow’s pants. 
As for chapter three, “The Knight’s Passage,” I ended up completing it in an extremely roundabout way. Since the level required is 38, and I was only 37 (after much grinding) when it started, I actually did the FATEs before accepting the quest itself! If you find yourself in the same position, I’m happy to report that you still obtain the required item from the completing the FATE even if you haven’t accepted the quest, so you can always go back and do the quest when you’ve reached level 38. 
For the folks who want to go about it the conventional way, you first need to speak with Kipih Jakka in Old Gridania (X:10, Y:8) to obtain the quest. As always, you’ll need to have completed all previous chapters before you can proceed. The FATEs themselves are located in the snowy land of Coerthas, near Whitebrim (X:15, Y:20 ) and The Weeping Saint (X:31, Y:7).
Chive and Lightning battling side by side! 
Here you’ll be faced with another boss battle with Lightning fighting by your side. I’m starting to sense a theme… This time, however, the enemy is a Clockwork Dreadnought in a FATE called “Lightning Strikes – Dead on Arrival.” As before, it’s the same FATE in both locations, and right now they’re going down extremely quick as everyone rushes to complete the quest, so it may be worth waiting near where they spawn so you can make sure you get a gold medal. 
This time around, you’ll be trading in a Simple Otherworldly Parcel in exchange for a pair of boots, meaning chapter four’s reward will (appropriately) be the final touch to your outfit, a dramatic Lightning or Snow coat. As I mentioned before, I ended up doing the FATE before accepting the quest, so all I had to do was talk to Kipih to accept the quest and then immediately talk to her again to turn in the item. After you do so, you’re treated to a short cutscene where Lightning shows up. Fully voiced, too! I gotta say, though, it looks like she’s lost a lot of weight… 
After his hard work was done, I took Chive to a resort to celebrate: 
Now, the fourth and final chapter of Lightning Strikes will start on the 20th, but there’s no way I’ll be at the required level 45 by then. If I’m lucky, I’ll make it with time to spare before the December 9th deadline! Here’s hoping the finale is a little more exciting, as sitting around waiting for the Lightning FATEs to spawn hasn’t been the best time I’ve spent with Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn so far. I did luck out with chapter three, though, since I was able to complete the FATEs while I was leveling.  
If you don’t manage to hit 45 before the 9th, there will be a chance to complete the chapter when the event relaunches in February to celebrate the western release of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. I gotta say, though, I’d like to be one of the cool kids who completes it early… Wouldn’t you? 

Final Fantasy XIV Lightning Strikes Chapter 1 Tutorial and Impressions

It’s high time I went back to my Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn coverage, wouldn’t you agree? Last I spoke of the game was on episode six of Chic Pixel Plus, and though I was loving the experience, I wasn’t sure if I’d go all in for the full three month subscription. Well, I’m happy to report that I did (my wallet is less happy), and I play it nearly every day! As a first-timer when it comes to MMOs, I find the allure of seasonal/special events very strong, regardless of how cheesy they might be. Luckily for me, FFXIV is already on its 3rd special event since its official launch, this time commemorating the impending Japanese release of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.

The special event, called Lightning Strikes (I see what you did there, Square Enix), finds Final Fantasy XIII‘s Lightning spirited away to the world of Eorzea for reasons unknown. The first chapter, For the Winsome, released on Thursday, November 14th, and rewards those who complete it with a set of gloves modeled after either Lightning’s or Snow’s, depending on the gender of your character. That means Chive wound up with the Bohemian’s Gloves, even though Snow himself doesn’t actually appear anywhere.

To initiate the quest, players must make their way to an NPC named Petyr Winsome, located at the Lower Decks of Limsa Limonsa (X:9, Y:12). Luckily, for the first chapter, players only need to be level 12, but subsequent quests will have increasing level requirements, culminating in level 45 for chapter four.

So, who’s this Winsome fellow? Let’s take a closer look…

Apparently he’s a reporter looking to gather information about a mysterious traveller from another world (Lightning, of course). Your task, if you choose to accept it, is to… find and observe her, really.

As an added touch, the “quest accepted” font is actually the font from Final Fantasy XIII! I didn’t get a screenshot of that, but we’ll see it again later on.

After accepting the quest, you need to go find Lightning in a FATE (Full Active Time Event). She appears in two: Sister Crustacean (Middle La Noscea, X:16, Y:12) and Tender Buttons (Western La Noscea, X:32, Y: 28). Both of these FATEs already appeared in the game before the Lightning Strikes event, and Lightning only shows up every other time the FATEs spawn, which averages out to be approximately once every 30 minutes. I ended up going for the Tender Buttons FATE because you get to fight a giant Dodo (Sister Crustacean is a giant crab battle, so whatever floats your boat).

As you can see, there were a lot of folks eager to participate in the event! It’s clear when Lightning is present, as the music will change to the Final Fantasy XIII battle theme (very cool), and she’ll say a few lines of dialogue. Many thanks to Mog for taking these screenshots, as I wasn’t able to actually see Lightning on the PS3 with so many other players running around.

Dead Dodo!
Completing the quest with a silver medal will net you one Other Worldly Parcel, while a gold medal will reward you with two. If you want to collect all the different event weapons, you’ll need to stick around and do the FATE a few times to collect more Other Worldly Parcels, as one will be given to Petyr Winsome to complete the quest and any extras can be used to purchase the weapons. To complete the quest and get all the weapons, you’ll need 9 Other Worldly Parcels total. 
The Final Fantasy XIII font lets you know you’ve done the right FATE

Lightning will stick around to exchange a few words after the FATE is completed. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to see her – unfortunately for me, things were so crazy I never got to actually see her in my game! I’m sure it’s just unusually crowded since it’s the first couple days of the event.

After heading back to Petyr in Limsa Limonsa and handing him an Other Worldly Parcel, you’ll be gifted with either the Guardian Corps Gauntlets or the Bohemian’s Gloves. You’ve just completed the first step towards a full Lightning or Snow cosplay! Unfortunately, if you’re a higher level, the gloves themselves are pretty useless since they’re only level 13. In fact, all of the subsequent items in the event are level 13, which is a bit of a shame.

Now, if you have any extra Other Worldly Parcels, you can head over to… er… Syngiwyb to exchange them for whichever weapons you want (she’s standing right next to Petyr, you can’t miss her). You won’t be able to move these out of your inventory, so unless you’re a big collector you may not want to go for every single weapon.

Interestingly, the official website states that by completing Chapter 1, players will gain access to a new hairstyle (presumably Lightning or Snows’s) in patch 2.1. This isn’t actually mentioned anywhere in the quest, though… Here’s a shot of the full outfits obtainable in the event, including the hairstyles:

And there you have it! That’s the end of chapter one of Lightning Strikes. Chapter 2 will be available from Saturday, November 16th at 12:00 am PST in Uldah, and you’ll need to be level 26 or above to participate. All of the chapters will be available until the event ends on December 9th, and the whole event will occur again in February alongside the English release of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. You can find the full details on the official website.

All in all, this event so far has been rather tedious. I couldn’t stand to just get one of the weapons, so I waited around for the FATE to respawn so I could get at least 5 packages… and it takes quite a while! It seems like rather poor planning on Square Enix’s part to have Lightning appear every other time. And why couldn’t they make a unique FATE just for the event? I imagine we’ll see that as the event goes on, though, especially with that Final Fantasy XIII-esque beastie pictured in the promotional screenshot at the top of this post. My other nitpick is it’s odd to have items designed after Snow be the reward for male characters, but he doesn’t seem to actually appear anywhere in the event. Hopefully he’ll show up to fight alongside Lightning later on…

If I’d been smart, I’d have taken shots of Chive with some of the weapons from the event! I’ll add those to the Chapter 2 post on Sunday if anyone is interested. Even though it’s tedious, there’s no way I won’t try to get every item available! Now let’s see if I can get to level 45 before December 9th…