Tag Archives: video games

Japan Envy: Shibanban x Capcom

Capcom has just announced its latest line of collab merchandise, and it’s with the adorable shiba line Shibaban by illustrator Yasuteru Ogoshi! There are five main designs from four of Capcom’s iconic game series, Okami (Amaterasu and Oki), Monster Hunter (Palamute), Mega Man (Rush), and Resident Evil (Cerberus). The Shibanban shiba looks absolutely adorable in all of the different themed costumes!

The merchandise lineup includes everything from acrylic standees to washi tape and sticky notes. The products will be released both online on the Parco Capcom store and in official Capcom stores in Tokyo, Osaka, and Umeda on March 25th. Check out all of the super cute items below!

I find it really interesting that they chose to include Oki, as I feel like he’s not featured in a lot of merchandise. Plus, there are two dogs from Okami, and only one from each of the other games. Did they run out of Capcom dog characters? Can you think of any others that could’ve been good candidates?

Though, I’m certainly not complaining, as I love every one of the designs!

In addition to the items you can buy outright, Capcom is also releasing UFO catcher exclusive items that must be won through Capcom’s UFO catcher app, Capcom Net Catcher, or an arcade in Japan offering one of the machines.

There are two cooler bag designs at the top right! How cool is that?

All of the UFO catcher items will also release on the 25th. Guess I’ll scouring the Japanese second hand market…

Finally, there are two special tote bag designs! The Amaterasu design will be offered as a free gift at Capcom stores with any purchase of the Shibanban x Capcom line products totaling over 4,000 yen. The Palamute bag will be offered at Capcom arcades to people who spend 1500 yen on the Shibanban x Capcom UFO catcher machines; you will collect one ticket for every 500 yen deposited, and can exchange three tickets for the tote bag.

The Amaterasu and Palamute designs are definitely my favorites, so I love that they chose to put them on the promo tote bags! You bet I’d get desperate to get my hands on at least one of them if I was in Japan. Neither promotion will be available for online orders, so unfortunately they will be harder to get than the other products.

For those unfamiliar with Yasuteru Ogoshi’s Shibanban illustrations, I highly recommend checking out their Instagram account! They release lots of super cute shiba merch through Mindwave such as stickers and other stationery, as well as products with other companies. They even have a wide range of stickers for LINE!

If you are interested in trying to snag some of these items from the Parco Capcom online store when they go up for purchase on March 25th, you can do so using a forwarding service such as Tenso. For more information on my experience with Tenso, check out this post!

Garage: Bad Dream Adventure Review

It’s not often I pick up a game based solely on a tweet, or find myself so enthralled by a game that I need to review it just to see more people talking about it, but here we are! Garage: Bad Dream Adventure came out on iOS and Android for the first time in English on December 16, 2021, and despite being an obscure Japanese video game with a unique, unsettling vibe, I’d never heard about it before my Twitter friend @furnuss posted about the release. (Update: As of July 2022, it is also available on PC!)

Immediately intrigued, I read up on the original game from 1999 and its journey to finally being released in English and knew I had to check it out. Since there seems to be very little talk about this exciting release, I had to share the news and my thoughts after fully completing the game!

Read More

My Dear Frankenstein Review

My Dear Frankenstein is the latest English localization from Moonchime Studios, arriving just in time for spooky season. Developed by Japanese indie team Number7, this point-and-click adventure visual novel features a gothic tale inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and is available for PC and Mac as a digital download for $4.99 USD. If you’re looking for an atmospheric adventure game that deals with some dark themes without scares, this quaint game is the perfect Halloween romp.

Read More

All Aksys Event Brings 4 Now Otome Game Localization Announcements

The All Aksys stream this past Friday was chock full of exciting news for otome game fans! Aksys Games was kind enough to invite me to record a segment about the games to air during the stream, so I’ve been sitting on this news for a little while now… I could hardly contain myself! Anyway, if you missed the livestream, Aksys announced that they will be localizing four additional Otomate games, bringing their upcoming otome lineup to seven!

The new titles announced are Lover Pretend, Paradigm Paradox, Kimi wa yukima ni koinegau, and Piofiore: Episodio 1926, the sequel to Piofiore: Fated Memories. Plus, the upcoming three previously-announced otome games, Olympia Soirée, Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani, and Variable Barricade each now have a special Aksys store bonus soundtrack CD version available for preorder for an additional $10. Olympia Soirée is coming out very soon on September 9, so there’s not long to wait for more otome game goodness!

If you’d like to watch the recording of my appearance on the All Aksys stream and learn more about the titles, you can do so below! I’d recommend checking out the trailers over on the Aksys Games YouTube channel first so you can visualize the titles as Sami and I chat about them.

Since I already did a pretty summary of each title in the video, I’ll refrain from doing the complete overview again here. But since I didn’t really share my personal thoughts on the stream, I’d say I’m most excited for Lover Pretend, since it looks like a really fun romcom with gorgeous art and bright colors. Plus, it has Tomoaki Maeno, who plays Lupin in Code: Realize along with a lot of other great characters! Visual-Novel.Info has a great overview of the VAs in each announced title plus other otome/joseimuke roles they’ve had if you’d like more info (the site is in German but can be translated at the top left).

Paradigm Paradox also looks amazing because of the magical girl theme and the gender-bending aspect: each of the eight guys transforms into a magical girl! I don’t think that’s something I’ve seen in an otome game before (though as soon as I post this someone will probably remind me of one I’m forgetting) and I’m really excited to see how it plays out in the game. KimiYuki also looks great, though it’s a more series story and a historical setting, which is not always my favorite. But it has a killer voice actor cast and great art by the artist behind Clock Zero, so it’s shaping up to be really good, as well!

Of course, Piofiore: Episodio 1926 is a wonderful announcement for all of the fans of the first game. I haven’t played beyond the common route yet, so I need to get on it ASAP! What title are you looking forward to most? Let me know in the comments!

International Game Jam: GAMERella Global 2021

If you’ve frequented Chic Pixel before, you know I’m all about more inclusive video games – whether it’s the games themselves or the community surrounding them. That’s why I was super excited when friend of the site Gina Hara, coordinator and creative director at TAG, reached out to me to help get the word out about GAMERella Global, which is going online for the first time in 2021!

GAMERella is a free, learner-friendly and supportive game-making marathon, dedicated to finding ways to better serve people who are often excluded from traditional game-making spaces. That means anyone and everyone is welcome!

Founded in 2013, GAMERella has helped hundreds of people start making games through mentorship, industry connections, and career advice. It was conceived by folks including co-founder Gina Hara at Concordia University with the goal of making getting into game jams and game-making less intimidating. This year, the event will take place globally through Discord from July 9-11, so that means anyone can participate regardless of location. If joining a game jam sounds a little too daunting for you, there will also be workshops on topics such as scoring for games, character design, and how to break into the game industry. But if you’re ready to take the plunge and participate in the jam itself, get a leg up with this Intro to Game-Jaming video from the 2018 event.

GAMERella participants jamming from home during the pandemic in 2020
(photo by Danielle Olson)

They’re also looking for volunteer mentors, so if you happen to have a couple hours free this weekend and want to support the participants and provide some wisdom, check out the mentor call out.

I might not be making a game, but I’m very excited to see the workshops planned! You can sign up for GAMERella Global for free to get access to the Discord via Eventbrite. Who knows, maybe you’ll get some ideas for your first (or next!) game!

Japan Envy: Super Mario x Parco Collaboration Item Fair

The Japanese shopping center chain Parco is teaming up with Nintendo for a massive Super Mario collaboration! First, around 60 stores are participating in the Item Collaboration Fair, which starts on July 1st, offering a range of exclusive Super Mario crossover merch (over 300 items total!). Then, Nintendo will be expanding it’s official Nintendo Store locations from its flagship Shibuya Parco location to other Parco centers in cities across Japan in a limited series of pop up shops over the next few months, allowing people who haven’t been able to go to the Shibuya location a chance to shop a range of great Nintendo products.

Finally, there’s Parco Grand Bazaar, which as far as I can tell is a regular Parco summer sale running from June 25 to July 11 with some Super Mario branding (the poster on the left in the image above).

I love when nerdy things cross over into fashion, so it’s really fun to see how all of the different bands are using the Super Mario brand for the giant Collaboration Item Fair starting on July 1. I was tipped off to this fun event by Thymine on Twitter, who posted about this amazing Angelic Pretty Princess Peach dress, complete with crown!

As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to check out what other collaboration items were available! I personally love how this lolita dress blurs the line between fashion and cosplay.

While Angelic Pretty doesn’t have any other clothing in the Super Mario collab, it is releasing a number of accessories: star and Boo-themed necklaces, rings, and earings. You know, I would proudly rock a sparkly Boo necklace.

I’m also a fan of the brand Samantha Thavasa, which often does collaborations with different pop culture media such as Sailor Moon. Both Samantha Thavasa and the spinoff brand Samantha Thavasa Petit Choice have Super Mario handbag and wallet designs, but the short and long wallets below are my favorites.

Finally, the kimono brand Kimono by Nadeshiko has a range of summer yukata with Super Mario designs! Check these out:

How cool are they?! The line comes with Super Mario obi (the sash you tie around kimono/yukata) as well as the yukata themselves, so you could style the Mario obi with a plain kimono for lots of fun looks such as the light blue yukata example above. I really like the black yukata, which looks like it’s depicting Mario in a castle or underground area (sorry I’m not a Mario expert). It’s not quite as flashy as the first bright blue example, and the M logos on the chest are reminiscent of the hakama Mario design!

There are tons more items in the Super Mario x Parco Item Collaboration Fair such as business ties, purses, and underwear, but these are some of the main standouts for me. You can view the whole list of participating stores and items on the official website. If you want to try to score any of these items outside of Japan, try to hit up the online stores on July 1. Make sure you have a proxy service set up!