When I started running monthly community gaming events nearly 3 years ago, I wanted to make sure to choose themes that highlighted neglected or overlooked game developers or genres. Well, this month marks my first potentially controversial theme: erotic games! To be more specific, this November you’re encouraged to play games with sexual or otherwise adult content. Sorry kids, but you’ll have to sit this one out! (The contents of this post, however, are safe for work)
Who’s ready for some spooks?! I know I am! After I tried something a little different for last year’s October Community Game-Along theme, I knew we had to return to horror this year. After all, what’s the lead up to Halloween without some scary games? This year, we’re even getting a new Japanese horror game, Yomawari (pictured in the header image) in English just before the end of the month, too!
Since I’ve been flat out this month with thesis work, I hope you forgive me for taking a break from the usual game recommendation list. Basically, if it’s spooky, it counts! You can also check out my recommendations from the 2014 horror Game-Along if you’re stumped for ideas.
The official tag of the month is #HorrorGameOct, so be sure to share all your scares on your social media platform of choice. Remember, even if you don’t have time to play a game, you can still participate by posting whatever horror game goodness you want the world to see using the hashtag (I really love it when people share photos of their collections!). For those of you who do plan on participating, let us know what you’ll be playing to get in the Halloween spirit in the comments!
Salutations, September! Now that August and the PlatinumGames Game-Along have come and gone, it’s time to switch gears, grab a pumpkin spice latte, and play some strategy RPGs!
Sadly, JRPG July must come to an end, but luckily I’ve got another great Community Game-Along theme lined up for August! While many months are themed around game genres, I also like to mix in specific game developers from time to time, as well. This time around, August is all about PlatinumGames!
Calling all Kirby fans! Starting this August, you’ll be able to eat all manner of food shaped like the adorable pink puffball at the brand new Kirby Café… if you live in Japan, of course.
Unveiled by the official HAL Labratory Twitter account, the cafe will be a limited-time affair, so if you don’t live in Japan, it’s time to start planning those trips! Unfortunately, the official website has no word on where the café will be located, but I think there’s a pretty good chance it’ll be somewhere in Tokyo.
There will also be limited edition merchandise that can only be purchased at the Kirby Café, but nothing aside from the August launch date has been revealed so far. The official Kirby Café Twitter account did, however, share this adorable stop motion animation to commemorate the announcement:
はじめまして！『カービィカフェ』です。この夏、「星のカービィ」の世界観をテーマにしたカフェをオープンします。https://t.co/dGo0tFNSkl pic.twitter.com/cV4cLaCtTJ
— KIRBY CAFÉ / カービィカフェ (@KirbyCafeJP) July 7, 2016
My heart be still! If, like me, this video has you somewhat inspired to make your own adorable Kirby vignettes, you can get your very own Kirby Nendoroid at CDJapan. It’s not the same thing as visiting the cafe, but it’ll have to do…
I had no idea going into this year’s Anime Expo that Aksys Games would announce not one, but four otome games localizations, but here we are! With Idea Factory International’s silence after releasing Amnesia: Memories, it wasn’t clear if and when we would see more Otomate games in English, but luckily Aksys Games has shown they value this market by showering fans with game announcements. And I couldn’t be happier!
[Update] Period Cube and Collar x Malice are available on Amazon!
Scheduled to release in 2017 for PS Vita in North America are Period Cube, Bad Apple Wars, Collar x Malice. In addition, the Code: Realize fan disc will also be getting an English release. Since Aksys Games already brought over Code: Realize last year, it makes sense that they would release the fan disc (not quite a sequel, but rather extra content for fans of the original game), but all of these other titles came as a complete surprise!
[Update] Apparently Aksys Games also stated during their Anime Expo 2016 panel that they are trying to release Hakuouki: Sweet School Life, the Hakuoki AU spinoff game set in a Japanese high school, as well.
July is nearly upon us, and that means it’s time to start picking out games for JRPGS July! Created as part of my monthly Community Game-Alongs, JRPG July has proved to be the most popular theme by far. I’m excited to see what everyone plays throughout the month!
But first, allow me to explain the rules: to participate in JRPG July, simply play a JRPG. That’s it! But to get the most out of the festivities, share your experiences and connect with other participants by tagging your posts with #JRPGJuly on social media. You don’t have to stop there, though – why not share a blog post, podcast, or gameplay video, too? The goal is to get as many people playing and enjoying JRPGs as possible, so do spread the word!
Since July is often a slow release month, this is a great time to knock off some games in your backlog, but there are also a lot of great JRPGs that have recently come out or will be coming out in July. Below are a few you might want to check out, but you can also head to the 2014 and 2015 JRPG July posts for more recommendations!