Celebrating 5 Years of StreetPass Brisbane

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When I first moved to Australia five and a half years ago, I was pretty isolated. Not only was I in a completely new country, but my husband and I moved to a city where we didn’t know anyone, much less fellow nerds! That’s why, when StreetPass groups started popping up around the world for folks outside Japan to have more chances to obtain those precious StreetPass hits, I immediately set out to create my own.

Five years later, I’ve organized StreetPass meetups in Brisbane nearly every month. Not only have I been able to complete many, many StreetPass puzzles, but I’ve also been able to bring other Nintendo fans together to enjoy a hobby they love in a welcoming environment. Let me tell you, it’s been a whole lot of fun!

June 2016 Community Game-Along: Media Tie-In Games

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Hello June! Sadly, we’re now halfway through the Community Game-Along themes for 2016, but the good news is we still have lots of good themes left! For June, we’ll be doing a slightly different theme, as suggested by @BadoorSNK: media tie-in games!

Media tie-in games are often shunned as cheap cash grabs, but this month we’re going to celebrate some of the good ones! And maybe laugh at the bad ones? Either way, it’s going to be a blast!

3DS Teddy Bear Simulator Kuma Tomo to Release in English This July

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Remember that vaguely creepy teddy bear simulator for the Nintendo 3DS? No? Well, three years after its Japanese release, Kuma Tomo is finally coming out in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand as Teddy Together. Wait, what?!

I don’t know about you, but getting a random PR email announcing the localization of a game I nearly forgot about is not something I expect at 6 pm on an average Tuesday. But hey, why not?! Kuma Tomo scared more than a few folks with its talking bear who remembers the your responses to questions it asks you (just check out this Japanese commercial), but Nintendo of Australia is marketing Teddy Together as a game for parents and children to play together to help develop their reading and interpersonal skills. Let me tell you, I can’t wait to hear what the teddy bear sounds like in English.

So, will this game come out in North America, or is it doomed to be another Europe-only Nintendo release? If so, I hope that at least means Teddy has a British accent. You can pick up Teddy Together for 3DS on July 1st in Europe and July 2nd in Australia/NZ. It will also be compatible with amiibo figures, which I believe is new to the English version!

May 2016 Community Game-Along: Metroidvania

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Wait, it’s May already?! Where has the time gone? We need to get crackin’ on these Metroidvania games!

That’s right, the May Community Game-Along theme is Metroidvania games! I’m really excited for #MetroidvaniaMay to make a comeback, as it was one of the first themes once I started these events back in 2014. Since this post is coming a bit late this month, I’ll cut right to the chase: if you’d like to participate, all you have to do is play any game that qualifies as a “Metroidvania” title (and believe me, there is a lot of debate on what is and what isn’t). Be sure to share your experiences in thoughts using #MetroidvaniaMay so all the other participants can join in the fun!

If you need a few ideas, check out my original Metroidvania May post, or try one of these titles:

Bob’s Magical Chainsaw: A Lumberjack’s Tale (Browser) – Chic Pixel Plus’ very own Sarah O’Donnell helped make this free browser-based game last month for low rez jam, and since it has light Metroidvania mechanics, it’s perfect for this month’s Game-Along! If you’d like to hear a little about the process of making the game, she talks all about it on episode 43 of Chic Pixel Plus.

Salt and Sanctuary (PlayStation 4) – If you want to play a timely new release, Salt and Sanctuary just came out for PS4 this past March and has received praise for basically being a 2D Dark Souls game with Castlevania elements. It certainly has the dark vibe down!

Rabi-Rabi (PC) – Perhaps you prefer your Metroidvania with a dash of moe and bullet hell shooter? Then look no further than Rabi-Rabi! It also packs a good bang for your buck with loads of content and a hefty difficulty for true Metroidvania savants.

Valdis Story: Abyssal City (PC, Mac) – It’s always great to see a Kickstarter success story, and Valdis Story: Abyssal City is exactly that! Unfortunately I can’t say much else about this action platformer with RPG and Metroidvania elements, but from what I’ve heard, it’s considered one of the best recent releases in the genre!

What will you be playing for Metroidvania May? Share your picks and suggestions in the comments!

April 2016 Community Game-Along: Yuzo Koshiro

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We’re already three days into April, which means we’re well into the Yuzo Koshiro Community Game-Along! After the Yoko Shimomura theme back in December, I wanted to make sure to feature another video game composer, and who better than the man of Ys, Streets of Rage, and Etrian Odyssey fame?! Though I can’t take full credit for the idea – Nitro of the MDisk Playlist podcast had me on to discuss Yuzo Koshiro a couple weeks back, prompting me to tie in April’s Community Game-Along theme. Be sure to give the episode a listen for an awesome overview of his impressive career!

The 2016 Monster Hunter Community Game-Along

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It’s finally time for the 3rd annual Monster Hunter Community Game-Along! I originally dedicated a month to Monster Hunter and the various hunting games the series has inspired back in 2014 for its 10th anniversary, but now it’s become a mainstay of my Community Game-Alongs together with JRPG July. If you’re not a fan of Monster Hunter, never fear, as any hunting-like game is eligible for this month’s theme. So grab your title of choice, and let’s get hunting!

If you’re on social media, you can share your experiences with your chosen title or recommend games to other participants using #MonMonth. I’m always following along, so you just might get featured!

Aside from the obvious Monster Hunter games, there are a handful of other titles from Freedom Wars to Bloodborne that would count for this month’s theme. You can head over to my original MonMonth post for some suggestions, but here are a couple more recent picks that you might like to try!

Final Fantasy Explorers (3DS) – This is the Monster Hunter game for Final Fantasy fans! While it takes a lot of inspiration from Monster Hunter, it doesn’t have nearly as steep a learning curve, making it a great first foray into this style of game. Plus, you can dress your character up like iconic Final Fantasy characters! Since this was recently released, it should still be getting a lot of action online.

Toukiden Kiwami (PS4, Vita) – The sequel to Toukiden: The Age of Demons, Kiwami is a great pick if Japanese folklore-inspired monsters are more up your alley. It’s about as close as we’ll get to playing a current-gen Monster Hunter game on a home console for the time being, too. Luckily, it’s a very solid hunting game from the Dynasty Warriors crew.

As for me, I’m going to finally attempt to play MonHan Nikki: Poka Poka Airou Mura DX, a cute Monster Hunter spinoff game for the 3DS featuring the adorable cat critters known as felynes. Let’s see if I actually find time to dedicate to it!

Sunday Spotlight: Davitsu

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I just realized there has been a definite lack of awesome pixel art in my Sunday Spotlight, and that totally has to change! That’s why this week I’m highlighting Davitsu, a very talented pixel artist who has even worked on a couple of games you can download and play for free right now!

Be sure check out Davitsu’s Octoling pixel art, as well as this rad Undertale GameBoy Advance mockup. And give Scarlett Witch (pictured above) and this Amstrad CPC game demo Tip Top a go while you’re at it!

You can follow Davitsu on Twitter and Instagram, or find even more games at the Rantan Games website. I’m dying to whip out my GameBoy micro thanks to all of this awesome pixel art!