Despite the fact that my Wii U generally got much less play time than my other consoles, Splatoonwas by far my most-played game of 2015. In my roundup of my favorite games of 2015 I mentioned that I hoped the Splatoon IP was here to stay. Since it’s only 2 years later and Nintendo has already released Splatoon 2 for the Nintendo Switch, I think it’s safe to say it is!
Earlier in the year, I didn’t forsee myself buying a Switch before next year at the earliest. Though I loved the original Splatoon, I thought I could hold off playing the sequel since it didn’t bring anything drastically new to the table. While the latter may be true, the former most certainly wasn’t!
Can you believe this is the last Sunday Spotlight of October? Before you know it, it’ll be 2016! Ok, I’m going to try not to dwell on the inevitable passage of time. I know just the thing to lift the spirits: cute figure photos!
This week’s Spotlight features Ataro, aka ataro878, an amazing figure photographer on Instagram. As far as I can tell, he doesn’t have any other social media or a website, which is a darn shame, but at least there’s one way to ogle his gorgeous photos:
Check out Ataro’s stunning use of color! His main subjects are Nintendo figures such as Link, Kirby, and Splatoon items, but he also features Danbo and a Metal Gear Solid figure quite often, as well (apologies, but at this point I have no idea which Snake is which).
This guy deserves a lot more exposure, so go give him a follow on Instagram if you can!
The time has come to throw down our first impressions of the 2015 fall anime season! And, in a first in Chic Pixel Plus history, one show just doesn’t make the cut…. We also discuss the anime opening theme collaboration made in heaven, scanalations, and get a wee serious in Nippon Neighborhood Watch about the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Do either of us still play Splatoon? What the hell is going on in this episode’s cover image? Learn all that and more on this week’s episode of Chic Pixel Plus!
00:01:38 – Hayashibara Megumi and Shiina Ringo’s anime theme collab
00:05:24 – Buzzfeed article promotes scanalations?
00:21:13 – Splatoon update
00:42:14 – Manga Book Club: Centaur Edition
00:28:40 – The Perfect Insider episode 1
00:37:00– Concrete Revolutio episodes 1-2
00:45:37 – One Punch Man episodes 1-2
00:54:38 – JK Meshi episodes 1-2
01:01:14 – Nippon Neighborhood Watch [further reading]
Opening ♫ – “Youthful Days’ Graffiti ” by Hanasoumen-P Closing ♫ – Splatoon festival turf war theme
Who doesn’t love Splatoon? Nintendo’s new fun, fast-paced, and drop-dead adorable IP has stolen many a heart over the last few months, and it’s not hard to see why. When I’m not jumping online for a quick match in Turf Wars, I’m humming my favorite songs and dreaming I’m half as fresh as the inklings inhabiting the world of Splatoon. If you’re like me and can’t get enough of this amazing title, here are five items you need to put on your wishlist immediately!
In a collaboration with Nintendo’s new ink-based shooter Splatoon, Japanese magazine Famitsu recently held a Squid Fashion Contest to design a new outfit for the game. After going through over 800 submissions, the winning design has been revealed! It will be made available as free costume DLC in August in Japan.
Isn’t it awesome!? There has been so much detail put into this sushi chef design, right down to the shape of the apron knot. And take a look at what kind of sushi that Inkling girl is serving up… Here’s hoping this also comes to North America and Europe!
A number of other finalists were posted, but while they will be receiving prizes for their interesting designs, unfortunately only the one will be making it into the game. You can see the full list over at Famitsu, but here are a couple of my favorites:
Raincoat! This makes total sense – I’d definitely want to wear a trendy neon raincoat if I was constantly getting shot with ink. I suppose it’s a little basic design-wise, but it would be fun if the color of the coat, boots, and glasses changed depending on your current ink color like some of the other clothing in the game.
Now this!! This is adorable. If you’re familiar with Japanese bento, you’ve probably seen miniature hot dogs cut into the shape of octopi before. I absolutely love the idea of turning that into a dress, and the slightly morbid implication of an inkling wearing an Octarian’s skin that the outfit implies. Also, that squid-shaped thing on her head? A toothpick! How neat.
Unfortunately, I imagine some of the runners-up weren’t selected for the DLC due to the fact that they’re designed exclusively for the female inklings. I guess it goes to show that pretty much everyone likes the girl design better!
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.
In a surprising turn of events, Splatoon, Nintendo’s brand new IP for the Wii U, is one of my most anticipated games of 2015. Why? I’d be lying if it wasn’t largely in part of the game’s amazing aesthetic, but the idea of a shooter based around paint guns instead of real guns is really appealing to this cute, peace-loving blogger. Though I was pretty much committed to picking up Splatoon day one, when Nintendo announced they’d be hosting a Global Testfire, I was more than happy to jump in on so I could give Splatoon‘s online multiplayer a spin.
The Testfire was available for three one hour periods this past weekend, allowing players from around the world to play in online matches with a selection of four different weapons and two different maps. While Nintendo gave very little notice before the Testfire commenced, I was able to play during the first session, which started at 1 pm Saturday Australia time. I’m pretty helpless when it comes to shooting games, both first and third person… but even though I only won the very last game I played, I still managed to have a blast!
