Tag Archives: video games

PS Vita Slim Unboxing and Screen Comparison Video

I shared a glimpse of my new light blue/white PS Vita Slim back in my writeup of the Tenso forwarding service, but if you were hoping for a better look at the system, this is the post for you! Check out the video below for a full unboxing, as well as a screen comparison with the original PS Vita’s OLED display.

If it wasn’t obvious, I’m extremely happy with it! In an ideal world I’d love a system that felt like the slim model but had the screen of the original, but the light weight and more ergonomic feel of the slim has me more than happy with the purchase. But just after I bought mine, Sony announced three new color options for Japan! What do you think of the new version?

Aqua Blue New PS Vita 2000

The color on the front is an neat touch, but I much prefer the light blue/white combo! If you’re looking to add a Vita to your home, you can find all of the models at Play Asia.

Makura no Danshi Otome Game Coming to Mobile Phones

Makura no Danshi kittens
from Makura no Danshi episode 9

I’m sorry to say, but this isn’t an announcement about a new kitten book featuring cute anime boys (though that would be amazing). Rather, this season’s crazy otome anime Makura no Danshi will be getting its very own romance simulation game! Aside from the fact that it will be for both iOS and Android and is coming out sometime this winter, there’s not much else in the way of information, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to admire the wide variety of content this series is garnering.

makuraapp

If you’ve been listening to Chic Pixel Plus, you’ll know that Sarah and I have been following Makura no Danshi this season. Given the horrendous production values that result in extended still frames, awful animation, and a strange lack of audio during numerous sequences, I’m honestly surprised they’re actually putting more money into this franchise! In addition to the recently announced mobile game, there are also a number of upcoming drama CDs, as well as a sleeping aid app exclusive to au phones in Japan (pictured above).

I guess this is an indication that Makura no Danshi is more popular than I thought… I hope this means we’ll see even more otome anime and associated media in the mainstream going forward! Also, big thanks to Gredlen for pointing out this news to me – I’m honored to have friends that make sure I stay up to date with pillow boy news.

Sunday Spotlight: Aiccio’s Video Game Cross Stitch

Sunday Spotlight Chic Pixel

Another Sunday, another Spotlight! This week I’m really excited to share one of my absolute favorite crafters. Cross stitcher aiccio is only on Instagram, as far as I’m aware (update: they are also on Twitter), but their mostly video game-themed projects are some of the best I’ve seen! Video games, particularly ones featuring pixel art, tend to lend themselves really well to cross stitch, but aiccio stands out for highlighting series and characters that you don’t often see get much love.

Check out some of their awesome works:

The above two pieces are Mother-themed book covers aiccio designed for the Hobonichi Techo planner, inspired by official designs. I think I prefer them to the official ones!

大きさは直径38mmです。#クロスステッチ #crossstitch #pixelart #8bit

A photo posted by @aiccio on

Buttons! Check out the rad Splatoon one!

Recognize this? It’s Angelique, which popularized dating sims for girls!

ファミコンリミックス⑥ #crossstitch #nintendo #nesremix #pixelart

A photo posted by @aiccio on

Of course, no video game cross stitch collection would be complete without some Mario. I could seriously link every single one of aiccio’s Instagram posts, they’re all that awesome. But instead, do head over and check out the rest of their work! They only have about 1,500 followers, which is not nearly enough, if you ask me, so give them a follow if you can! If you don’t have an Instagram account, show them some love on Twitter. Now I want to go do some nerdy crafts…

Japan Envy: Danganronpa Cakes from Patisserie Swallowtail

danganronpasweets1

Why look at that, Japan is celebrating Ultra Despair Month, too! Well not really, but it’s a great coincidence that Patisserie Swallowtail is offering two rad Danganronpa-inspired cakes during the month of September. The sweets shop, which specializes in collaboration items for anime, manga, and game series popular with women, is located in Shibuya Marui on the 8th floor. If you happen to be in the area between September 9th to the 23rd, here’s what you could pick up:

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The Monokuma cake is ¥750 (about $7) and contains white chocolate mousse and raspberry jelly. Yum!

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The Monomi cake is also ¥750 and contains cream cheese mousse and passion cream.

Every cake purchase comes with a limited edition Danganronpa coaster:

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Usually collaboration drinks are what come with coasters, but I certainly wouldn’t complain if I got one of those neat designs! Of course, which coaster you’re given when you order is random, but I’d have my eye on the Nagito or square Monomi one.

If you’re like me and have no hope of ever making it to Japan in time for this awesome collaboration, you can follow Patisserie Swallowtail on Twitter and drool over all of their various adorable creations there.

September is Ultra Despair Month!

Ultra Despair Month Community Game Along

At the end of every month, I suddenly realize a whole month has already gone by and it’s time to announce the next Community Game-Along theme. I then proceed to scramble to the complete 2015 theme list I wrote many moons ago to refresh my memory and write up a post like this one. This month, however, when I turned to my handy list, I was shocked and awed to discover that I had some kind of telepathic foresight to deem September Spike Chunsoft month! Why, the heavily anticipated Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls comes out in September! Talk about awesome timing. Let that be a lesson to you all that sometimes things just happen out of sheer dumb luck, but there’s nothing stopping you from basking in the glory of a job well done anyway.

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Sunday Spotlight: Final Fantasy Recipes

Sunday Spotlight Chic Pixel

Happy Sunday, and thanks for checking out my newest column, Sunday Spotlight! I’ll be using this space to highlight other bloggers, creatives, and otherwise cool people that I think you should know about. If you’re a fan of the kinds of things you see on Chic Pixel, you’re definitely going to want to check out the folks I’ll be showcasing here!

Final Fantasy Recipes banner

This week, I want to tell you about Final Fantasy Recipes, an awesome Final Fantasy food blog that isn’t quite what you’d expect. Instead of modeling food after the characters and icons from the Final Fantasy series, this blog instead seeks to create recipes that might reflect what the inhabitants of those worlds actually eat! As the Final Fantasy Recipes about page states, it attempts to serve as a bit of an anthropological survey of the Final Fantasy games. How cool is that?!

From the Festival of the Hunt Stew to the Narshe Spiced Wine, each recipe comes with an image and quote from the game that inspired it. I haven’t had a chance to try one of the recipes out for myself yet, but I am really impressed by this different take on game-inspired cuisine. I’ve got my eye on the Zozo Pub Soup – it looks relatively easy to make, but still sounds quite delicious!

Let me know if you end up trying any of Final Fantasy Recipes‘ recipes! Are there any other game-inspired food that have made their way on to your dinner table?

The Odin Sphere: Leifdrasir Famitsu DX Limited Edition is Utterly Amazing

Odin Sphere Leifdrasir logo

Odin Sphere is one of those games that, while I think extremely highly of it, I’ve never actually finished it. Unlike my usual excuse of “well, I just got sidetracked…,” I can actually pinpoint the terrible slowdown the original PlayStation 2 version of the game experienced as the reason for my inability to complete the game. As you can imagine, I was thrilled when the HD remaster Odin Sphere: Leifdrasir was announced for a January 2016 release on PS3, PS4, and PS Vita in Japan. Not only will the game look gorgeous, but the new version should totally fix the slowdown problems of the original!

Though preorders for the Japanese version have been up since shortly after the announcement last month, the official website has only just unveiled the store-exclusive preorder bonuses for the game. Now, normally I am not a fan of these kinds of deals, but for my beloved Odin Sphere, I’ll make an exception. I may even make an exception and preorder my first Famitsu DX limited edition… I mean, just look at some of the amazing stuff you get:

Odin Sphere HD Famitsu DX 1

Odin Sphere HD Famitsu DX 2

Coasters?! A a Kitchen Pooka mug?! Not only that, but the extra special limited edition, exclusive to the Japanese store Ebten, will also include an A2 size tapestry, a desktop calendar, and a 3D LED crystal featuring the adorable Alice and Socrates (preview images not yet available). All preorders of the game also come with a special art book, and the Famitsu DX limited edition is no exception.

Odin Sphere HD artbook

The Odin Sphere: Leifdrasir Famitsu DX limited edition will set you back ¥14,615 regardless of system for everything, or ¥11,534 for everything but the 3D crystal. I… may have already ordered the crystal-less PS Vita version. The game itself is retailing at¥7,980, clocking in the cost to get the additional tapestry, calendar, coasters, and mug at ¥3,554. That’s not so bad for all those neat goodies, in my opinion!

If you’re desperate to get your hands on this limited edition, keep in mind that the game has already been announced for an English release sometime in the future. However, I’d say it’s highly unlikely that items such as the mug, coasters, or 3D crystal will be made available elsewhere. If you’re ready to spring for this amazing set like me, you can either the preorder version with the crystal or without the crystal using a forwarding service such as Tenso to order from Ebten. I have a guide that walks you through the whole process. Happy shopping!