Chic Pixel

Today I'm going to try something a little different... A slipper review! But these aren't just any slippers, of course, as they feature the very adorable kitty mascot of the Monster Hunter series, Felyne!

I guarantee by the end of this post those soulless eyes will start freaking
you out (if they don't already)

I received these as a Christmas present from my mom, and I have to say, even though it's the middle of the summer here in Australia, I can't help but want to wear them around the apartment. They're just so cute!

But cuteness if only half of a premium slipper package. And, in the case of character merchandise like this, there's always the possibility of bootleg items. Let's take a closer look:

First, can I say that the little tail on the back is the most adorable detail? Anyway, the label looks legit, even though it's sewn on rather crookedly.

The tag, however, makes it clear that this is definitely official Capcom merchandise with that fancy gold Capcom seal. You know you've got something special when you can't even throw the tag away! That, or you're me.

Aside from being made from a very soft, fluffy fabric, the slippers come with an anti-slip bottom. My house is fully carpeted so I don't really have to worry about this, but it's nice to have if you live in a place with lots of wood floors or other slippery surfaces!

Here's what they look like on. I don't think I'll be able to stop looking at my feet! The felyne heads are extremely well sewn, and it really feels like I'm stomping around on a pair of plush toys with how cushy they are. Of course, they are built with Japanese feet in mind, so if you have larger feet they unfortunately probably won't fit. I generally run about a size 8 (25 centimeters), and my heel is just at the very back of the slipper.

One last thing: check out how big the front of these are! They're not called plush slippers for nothing. Using the universal measurement of the PSP case, they are a little more than half a PSP case tall.

The only aspect I wasn't able to "test" was their durability – I haven't worn them all that much, so I can't speak to how well they hold up over time. But they'll only set you back $10 at Jlist.com, and for that price, they're definitely a steal for Monster Hunter fans! They even have Felyne's black kitty buddy, Melynx, for those who prefer the pink x black color scheme.

How can you say no to that face

Finally, for those of you who are bummed that you won't be able to fit into these tiny Japanese slippers, they also have Felyne and Melynx earmuffs! If it actually got cold enough where I live to necessitate owning earmuffs, I would've definitely picked up a pair by now.

Hopefully my Felnye slippers will keep me happy and my feet warm for years to come!

Falcom Month is in full swing now with people all over the web playing Falcom games and writing about them! In hopes of keeping this post a little more concise than the last one, I'm just going to link to last week's roundup and the initial Falcom Community Game-Along post, so do go check out those if you want to read up on the event!

Just finished Ys1 Chronicles. I still prefer the PCE version but it's an amazing game nevertheless #Falcomonth pic.twitter.com/55y2Iuvpwt
— Wassim Christin (@Soulhouf) January 13, 2014

First, @BadoorSNK linked to a great guide to the Ys series that briefly describes each of the games and recommends which ones to play first. Unfortunately, the original link appears to be dead, but here's the image:

Just like last week, some folks took the opportunity to celebrate OSThursday with groovy Falcom tunes, but week two is decidedly Ys-centric! @TepidSnake goes for classic PC-88 Ys, while @pablo_0151 chooses a bright theme from Ys III, and @Soulhouf highlights a more intense number from Ys: Oath in Felghana.

This week also saw two reviews for Ys: Memories of Celceta go up! Elliot Gay of Japanator has some high praise: "If you have a Vita, I guarantee you that you won't find a better action RPG experience on the console."Phil Kollar has a similarly positive impression of the title, stating in his Polygon review that Memories of Celceta is the "most approachable and smartly designed Ys game ever." If you have a Vita and don't have Memories of Celceta on your "to play" list for Falcom Month, you may want to consider it!

"Attack food" in #TrailsSC seems really op so far. Deal 3k damage to a boss without any charge time? Sure, why not. #Falcomonth
— Hasemo (@Hasemo) January 12, 2014

@jdklove has also been streaming a playthrough of Brandish 2 throughout the week, so be sure to follow him and keep an eye on his Livestream channel if you're interested.

Finally, @BadoorSNK wrote a great piece on his blog about the quirky PSP title Gurumin, which he just completed as part of Falcom Month. He describes it as a "pleasantly breezy, super-charming, and whole-out joyful experience" that takes about 10 hours to complete. The game is available on PSN for the Vita as well as UMD, making it another easy title to pick up this month! I know it's next on my list to play after I finish Memories of Celceta.

Continuing on with #Falcomonth, still on Sora no Kiseki FC. Determined to finish everything at Ruan tonight!
— Peter Grant (@ragathy) January 9, 2014

Hopefully we'll see more writeups and impressions as people start to finish their games in week 3! Expect something from me, at the very least... I'll see you in the next roundup, and until then, happy gaming!

In my opinion, "Are games art?" is a tired debate. Rather than wasting time arguing whether or not they are, I prefer to let critique, analysis, and thoughtful discussion about the games we love and hate speak for themselves. Matt Sainsbury of Digitally Downloaded is looking to do just that with his new Kickstarter project for The Interactive Canvas: Gaming Artists, an annual coffee table book that will celebrate games as art through creator interviews and essays.

Since Matt is no stranger to Chic Pixel (you can hear us chat on episode 2 of Chic Pixel Plus!), I decided to get in touch with him to further discuss his vision for the project. "You can't tell someone that a game is a work of art. All you can do is write about games from that perspective and, eventually, even the greatest of disbelievers will come around. This is how it happened with the film industry half a century ago," he says. "I hope to show the skeptics that games are art by providing them with this book that is filled with proof. All the the game developers that we have involved with the book are genuine artists, and I expect that by reading their stories people will be convinced that there are game makers out there that think at a similar level to finest filmmakers and writers."

The highlight for many of the planned book with be the 30 interviews with various game creators it contains – a sampling from the official Kickstarter page lists the likes of American McGee, Jonathan Blow, and Hidetaka Suehiro (Swery65). Since I'm all about Japanese games here at Chic Pixel, I had to ask Matt if he was planning/able to get more Japanese developers in addition to Swery on board. "I do have quite a few Japanese game developers that I can't announce right now for various reasons," he wrote. "I think with the Japanese developers, they want to see if the book is guaranteed to be published before they publicly back it... of the 30 interviews that will be in the book, around 1/4 of those will be with Japanese developers." It's too bad he can't announce them until the Kickstarter is funded, but it's great to hear there are more in the works!

A game like Okami takes the term "interactive canvas" quite
literally!

But if the "games as art" debate is hotter than ever in the western games industry, what's the situation like over in the land of the rising sun? Here's what Matt had to say: "When I was in Japan a few years ago, a major art gallery in Tokyo had a simply massive exhibition of interactive art; Miyamoto got awarded a lifetime achievement award, and there was all kinds of displays looking at everything from Street Fighter to Love Plus. I think the Japanese love the idea of games as art, and the likes of Goichi Suda, Keiji Inafune and, of course, Shigeru Miyamoto, are simply accepted as artists. If we don't see such an active debate about whether games are art in Japan, I'm more inclined to believe it's because the Japanese don't question whether it is or not."

Finally, in addition to all the exciting content already covered, The Interactive Canvas will feature a number of guest writers, including Brendan Keogh, author of Killing is Harmless, and... yours truly! That's right, if The Interactive Canvas exceeds its funding goal, Matt has expressed an interest in hiring me to write an article for the book, which I would most certainly love the opportunity to do.

If a gorgeous, 200 page, full color book chock full of insightful content on games far sounds up your alley, I encourage you to head over to the Kickstarter page and consider donating before the campaign ends on February 6th!

It's not a secret that I love Japanese candy. In fact, I've written some strangely in-depth posts about interesting Japanese candy a few times in the past, but unfortunately I've noticed that they tend to not get nearly as much traction as my other, non-food posts.

Of course, the most obvious reason for this would be that no one is nearly as interested in Japanese candy as I am. If that's the case, consider me thoroughly shocked and I will cease all candy-related endeavors at once. But instead of jumping to that conclusion, I've considered that perhaps reading about someone eating candy isn't nearly as amusing as actually watching said person eating candy... Bet you can't guess where I'm going with this!

That's right, I've decided to jump into the scary world of Youtube videos! I'm calling the series Apricotsushi Samples and will be posting a new episode every Sunday. In my very first attempt, I take a bite out of the sakura matcha (cherry blossom green tea) Kit Kat pictured above. It'll only take five minutes of your time, so if you're at all interested, please give it a watch!

I'm sure it will become immediately apparent that I was extremely nervous to film this video. My fear of talking in front of people and the anxiety associated with that is something I'm always trying to work on, and while podcasting certainly helps, I imagine posting these videos will be a big step in overcoming that to some degree. Fingers crossed!

Of course, any and all comments are more than welcome! I'd definitely like to hear what people like/dislike about the video and what you would like to see more of in the future. And if you need to cleanse your palette after my video (pun intended; I'm so sorry), I highly suggest checking out Emmymade in Japan – her food videos are super, and she does a lot of fun Japanese candies, as well.

Hell of a title, eh? Unfortunately, it couldn't be helped, as Square Enix decided to launch two tie-in events in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn this month: a Dragon Quest X event, "There's Golems in those Hills!" and a Final Fantasy XI event, "That Old Black Magic." It's great to see near-constant events since the Lightning event began in November, but these two quests are rather short, so you should be able to knock them off rather quickly.

First, you'll need to initiate the Dragon Quest X event in Ul'dah and the Final Fantasy XI event in Gridania, so I'd suggest hitting up whichever one is closest to you at the time. Both events end on February 3rd and won't take you very much time at all to complete, though, so you may want to wait a few days until the initial rush is over! I started with "That Old Black Magic" in Gridania, but it doesn't matter what order you do them in.

You'll find the quest giver, Khloe Bajhiri, at X:10, Y:11 in New Gridania. This level 10 quest is very straightforward: after accepting it, you'll need to go complete two FATEs that happen in succession. The easiest FATE location to get to from Gridania is in East Shroud at X:12, Y:26, but you can also find it at South Shroud (X:15, Y:30), Western Thanalan (X:25, Y:19), Southern Thanalan (X:14, Y:38), Middle La Noscea (X:15, Y:12), or Eastern La Noscea (X:30, Y:34). That's a lot of FATEs, but remember you only need to go to one location to complete the quest, so you can take your pick.

The first FATE located in East Shroud is level 11 and will find you fighting a bunch of large Spriggans, while the second FATE features the unnamed "Monstrous Sorceress" (though anyone who knows Final Fantasy XI should recognize her!). Since I did the FATEs the day the event went up, it was hard to see much of anything, and I was worried I wouldn't get a gold medal since I wasn't in a party. I only hit the Monstrous Sorceress a couple times, but I still got a gold medal! I'm not entirely sure, but I think you just have to participate in the event in order to get the item required to complete the quest.

The item in question is a Dainty Doll, which you'll need to turn in to Vorsaile Heuloix in New Gridania (X:9, Y:11). You'll then be treated by a very fun cutscene, after which you'll get your reward! I don't want to spoil too much of the fun for those who will be doing this quest themselves, but here are a couple screenshots that gave me a chuckle:

In awe of the giantess

Two of them?!

After you encounter Shantotto, you'll be gifted with a Wind-up Shantotto minion.

I gotta say, the minion's pretty cute:

Again, it was a very simple quest, but the reward is nice!

Next up is the Dragon Quest quest (heh) located in Ul'dah. Interestingly, the requirement is only level 7, which is lower than the Final Fantasy XI quest. You'll need to go see Havak Alvak at X:12, Y:8 to initiate it, then go find the Beefy Businessman at X:8, Y:12. He'll ask you a very important question that you must answer correctly in order to proceed:

As if I would say no! Just like the Final Fantasy XI event quest, you'll need to go complete a series of two FATEs to complete "Breaking Brick Mountains." Again, there are many locations, but the easiest one to get to from Ul'dah is located in Central Thanalan, X:17, Y:23. For the curious, here are the other locations: Lower La Noscea (X:27, Y:17), Upper La Noscea (X:34, Y:24), Central Shroud (X:23, Y:23), and North Shroud (X:15, Y:31).

Like the Final Fantasy XI quest, the first FATE will feature a bunch of smaller enemies, and the second will be just one large enemy, a Stone Brickman. You can see I decided to party up for this one just in case I needed to get a gold medal for the FATE to get the quest item.

The item you'll need is the Brickman Chunk, which you can turn in to the Beefy Businessman to complete the quest. Again, I'm not 100% sure, but I think you just need to participate in both FATEs to get the item. That, or it's very easy to get gold!

Just like with the Final Fantasy XI quest line, I don't want to spoil the cutscene that follows. This one, in particular, is a lot of fun! I'll just leave you with these:

Puff puff fans rejoice!

The expression on Chive's face is priceless

For some reason, Square Enix decided to give not one, but two items for completing this quest: a Thug's Mug and a Wind-up Brickman.

Here are a couple shots for posterity:

Love how it looks cel-shaded!

Goes pretty well with Chive's Monk garb, eh?

I was a little surprised by how bare-bones these quests were, especially after the complicated holiday quests. Then again, I thought the Heavensturn event was rather tedious, so I guess something more straightforward is a good change of pace. The cutscenes were very fun, and it's always nice to get new minions, so even though I would have liked a little more than just a couple of FATEs, it's definitely better than nothing! Overall, though, I have to say my favorite part of these tie-in quests are the event-specific quest and FATE fonts and the cute slimes they added to the quest window for the Dragon Quest X event. I'm such a nerd!

Come one, come all, to the first episode of Chic Pixel Plus of 2014! I'm joined by games writer Janine (@bleatingheart) for a special themed episode on all things crafty, cutesy, and figure-y! We cover everything from deco to Re-Ments, Nendoroids to Volks, so if you've ever wanted to learn more about a different side of Japanese nerd (and not so nerdy) culture, then be sure to give this episode a listen!

We also get a little serious about the stigmas associated with the topics we cover, as well as answer some listener questions. We're kicking off the new year with a bang, and I sincerely hope you enjoy the show!

My other podcast has a new episode up, too! http://radio.morningproject.com/the-nichiest-podcast-ever-take-008b/
Read Janine's games writing here: http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/games/

Opening ♫ - Rouge no Dengon – Arai Yumi
Closing ♫ - Rashiku Ikimashō – Meu

[DOWNLOAD] [ITUNES] [RSS]

If I were to preemptively name 2014's theme, I might be inclined to call it the "year of niche Japanese game releases." Not only are we getting Danganronpa, Yumi's Odd Odyssey, Conception II, and Steins;Gate, but now Idea Factory International has announced that they will be bringing their card battling RPG PS Vita title, Monster Monpiece, out in Europe and North America this spring.

I have to say, the idea of a card battling RPG is totally my jam. Unfortunately, Monster Monpiece comes with a little extra, er, baggage. See, the game became notorious last year for its raunchy mini-game called First Crush ❤ Rub that requires players to find monster girls'"weak points"... and I'm sure you can guess where these weak points might be. If a monster girl becomes sufficiently excited during First Crush ❤ Rub mode, an additional minigame called Extreme Love will be activated. This is probably the most infamous element of Monster Monpiece, as it requires players to grip their Vitas vertically and vigorously rub the front and back touch pads simultaneously. And if you're still left wondering what these mini-games are all about, here's a direct quote from Idea Factory International's Press release to drive it all home: "... we kindly note that we highly recommend you play this portion of the game in private, due to the explicit voices and hand-action during First Crush ❤Rub and Extreme Love."

Okay, it's pretty clear that Monster Monpiece is not aimed at me. But from what I understand, beneath its obnoxious exterior is actually a very competent RPG, and I've always wanted to see a card battling game come out in English. Unfortunately, though, not only does Idea Factory International feel it needs to highlight the more unsavory aspects of the game (if their first English trailer is any indication), but the company is also in hot water with fans over the removal of a number of the higher level (and thus, less clothed) monster cards from the English release of the game.

I'm really not interested in turning this post into an argument of whether censorship is okay or not, or whether Monster Monpiece is objectifying/sexist/etc. or not (though if you're wondering, the answers are no and yes, but the discussion is definitely more complicated than single-word responses). Rather, I think it's important to highlight that despite all this, I'm not only happy that Monster Monpiece is coming out, but I'm actually interested in checking the game out myself. However, the fetishistic gameplay elements and the preoccupation game developers have with pandering towards a male audience is beyond tiresome, and I sincerely hope that if nothing else, Idea Factory International brings one of their parent company's otome games over next.

The idea that there isn't a market for games aimed at a predominately female audience is simply absurd, and we need to see more diversity in the games that are localized into English. You know where to find me if you want my list of otome games I want to see come over, Idea Factory!

Those of you who are already following my YouTube channel (thanks!) probably know already, but for those who don't – a new episode of Apricotsushi Samples is up! This week, I try out some adorable Pikachu cookies I purchased at the Pokémon Center in Osaka last June. If you're interested, do give it a watch:

Since my YouTube video endeavors are still rather young, I thought it'd help get the word out by posting about them here... But I also don't want to keep repeating the same things, just in different outlets, so I really want to be able to include some special extras for those of you who actually go to the effort to read these posts! Luckily, in this case, I have just the thing:

In the video, I mention that each of the cookies has a distinct face (except for the one duplicate, which I gladly ate), but I didn't get a chance to show them. So, here's a photo! I absolutely adore how Japanese companies put little flourishes on their products like this. The Pikachu in the top middle looks so sad, though!

And here's a closeup of the cookies and individual wrapper designs. I suppose I should go ahead and eat the rest of them, but it's really hard to bring myself to eat something so cute!

Well, I hope you're enjoying Apricotsushi Samples so far! I'm having a lot of fun filming them, and if all goes well I'd like to slowly expand the video content on my channel. Fans of the written word have no need to fear, though, as this site will always come first! That said, I'd love some input on future episodes of Apricotsushi Samples. This week I'll definitely be doing the Mountain Dew Cheetos I received in the mail yesterday, but future weeks are still up in the air. Would you like to see different Kit Kat flavors? Savory snacks? Sweet candies? I've got quite the backlog of Japanese treats to choose from!

January's Falcom Community Game-Along was so successful that I thought it would be a shame to have the festivities end after only 31 days! As a result, you can look forward to having monthly game-along themes for the duration of 2014, or at the very least until interest and participation starts to wane.

Since February is the somewhat official month of romance, what better way to celebrate than with some dating sim games? The dating sim genre hasn't ever had its time in the limelight outside of Japan, where it's actually quite popular with both men and women. In fact, the term "dating sim" isn't even really correct, as it only encompasses romance games that have simulation elements (usually meters for stats that you have to raise to get the girl/guy you're pursuing). The Japanese term ren'ai, meaning romance, is generally used to refer to any games that focus on the romantic pursuit of one of usually a number of selectable men or women, but since "dating sim" is more the well-known term in English, I'll be using it for the purposes of this event to refer to any game with romance elements, be it simulation, visual novel, or otherwise.

The "otherwise" is important here, too, since there many games such as the Harvest Moon and Rune Factory series that incorporate romance. It should also go without saying that romance games aimed at anyone are fair game, be they catering to a predominately male audience (bishōjo) or female (otome). Here's a quick sampling of titles available in English that fall into the dating sim genre:

Arino plays Angelique Trois

Katawa Shoujo(PC, Mac, Linux) – If you've never played a dating sim game before and want an affordable first experience, you can't really go wrong with Katawa Shoujo. Not only is it free, but it tells a surprisingly heartfelt journey of a young man who suddenly finds himself with a life-threatening disability. There are five female romance options, all with different disabilities, and the game treats its delicate subject matter more seriously than most games in the genre. Be aware, however, that this is an 18+ game, which means it features sex scenes, but they can be skipped by selecting an option in the menu.

Hatoful Boyfriend(PC, Mac) – For those who are ready to go all in, you can't go wrong with Hatoful Boyfriend. While it's a dating sim aimed at women, you're not dating men... not human men, anyway. All of the suitors are male pigeons! The free version allows you to date seven different pigeons, but the full version with a mysterious eighth pigeon only costs $4, so it won't break the bank.

Hakuoki series (PSP, 3DS) – One of the few major official otome game releases in English, Hakuoki is a must for all serious fans of the genre. Fully voiced in Japanese and taking place during the Edo period in Japan, the game is a great example of the kind of otome visual novels that are currently all the rage in the land of the rising sun. If samurai warriors aren't your cup of tea, you may want to try Aksys Games's other otome release, Sweet Fuse: At Your Side (PSP/PSN), instead.

Of course, there are many, many more games than the couple I've listed here, but it would simply be impossible for me to include them all! Here are a couple more titles you may want to check out: Dandelion (PC, Mac), Aselia the Eternal (PC), Absolute Obedience, Persona 3 and 4, and any entry in the aforementioned Harvest Moon and Rune Factory series. There's also tons of free content available from last year's Pulse Pounding Heart Stopping Dating Sim Jam! Finally, for folks who want to brush up on the classics, both the Angelique and Tokimeki Memorial series are great places to start. If you're still having trouble finding something you'd like to play, let me know in the comments so I or someone else can help you out!

It's easy to participate in the February Dating Sim Game-Along – all you have to do is play and write about dating sims in some form, be it on your blog, Twitter, or elsewhere! If you're using Twitter, Tumblr, or Instagram (or some other newfangled social media that also uses hashtags), please use #DatingSiMonth so that I can keep track of your submissions and include them in my weekly compilation posts. Of course, you're also welcome to submit podcasts or any other critical work to the Game-Along – as long as you're talking about dating sims, virtually anything goes!

I hope you're all ready to date some cuties and share your experiences come February! I've got a pile of Japanese otome games and Katawa Shoujo calling my name, so I, for one, am all set!

I still can't believe what a success the Falcom Community Game-Along has been! What started as a offhand comment on Twitter turned into a fun month-long event that got all sorts of people playing games and talking about them, and I couldn't have asked for more. Though things quieted down around week three, which prompted me to postpone that week's roundup until the end, content really began to pick up again as the month came to an end.

This roundup post will focus more on the great selection of blog posts that went up, but that doesn't mean there wasn't also lots of tweeting going on! Be sure to check out #Falcomonth on Twitter to see how the month panned out.

And that's Ys V finished. It was lots of fun. Special thanks to @GideonZhi's team for translating it #Falcomonth pic.twitter.com/PSTVYAyeo8
— Badr Alomair (@BadoorSNK) January 17, 2014

Today's Series Dedication Sunday (No. 3!) is more of a Company Dedication for #falcomonth : Falcom Games! pic.twitter.com/TsOqeP3hpz
— CephiYumi 愚かな醜い (@CephiYumi) January 19, 2014

@Soulhouf pointed out a brilliant article on Hardcore Gaming 101 that covers the entire Ys series. It's a definite must-read for both fans and those interested in checking out the series. I'm seriously impressed by all the details they've packed in.

Next, @DavZZGndm contributed a piece on Vantage Master Online – a game from a lesser-known Falcom series that is actually available for free in English translation from Falcom themselves! Davzz's in-depth look at the 1v1 strategy's systems, complete with plenty of screenshots, should be enough to make anyone interested in Falcom games want to check it out. And for the price of free, how can you pass that up?

meanwhile, in #falcomonth: ADOL, MASTER SWORDSMAN (but seriously how cute is this) http://t.co/kHWu1MkLHQ
— Ant Cooke (@TepidSnake) January 21, 2014

Over at One Million Power, Brian Clark whipped up a great piece about his experience playing the Famicom port of the original Ys. Unfortunately, the Famicom port featured some changes that were not for the better, such as the strengthening of all of the bosses except for the final one, who was made weaker (I might not mind that!), and reducing Adol's movement speed. Even so, Brian notes that he enjoyed the experience overall and now has the perspective to see how modern action RPGs have evolved.

Badr Alomair managed to check out the fan-translated Ys V and reported back on his blog, Video Games! and other stuff. Often cited as the black sheep of the series, Ys V never got an official English release, but Badr asserts that he enjoyed his time with the game and considers it to be a decent introduction to the series, even with its flaws.

@apricotsushi The pressures of social media forced me to finally try out the classic Ys. #Falcomonth success!
— aka_Chewie (@ciscoidiot) January 30, 2014

Yay peer pressure! Ahem.

Cody Winn earns double, nay, triple points for not only covering Ys: Memories of Celceta (which we only saw covered in a couple of unrelated but well-timed reviews) but also having the most punny title of the month: "Ease into Ys." I do love a good pun!

Anyway, Cody remarks that though he'd never played a Ys game for more than 10 minutes, he found Memories of Celceta to be fun and fast-paced. He does, however, mention that the music is one of his least favorite aspects, which is a bit of a kick in the gut for any Ys fan! However, it's an unfortunate truth that Memories of Celceta was a little lacking for tracks.

Finally, Alois Wittwer wraps up Falcom Month with another great post about the very first Ys game. Unlike other write-ups, he chose to focus specifically on the game's combat, and it's a piece as snappy as the good 'ol bump system. It's a great way to finish up the month, as he manages to capture the beauty of Ys's battle system in a way few have done. Even if you think you've read enough about Ys, I highly suggest you go give it a read!

@_Kimimi Well happy! Now I can continue my own personal #Falcomonth (or months!)
— Paul Darbyshire (@pablo_0151) February 2, 2014

That's right, Paul! Falcom Month is never truly over. As if we could ever stop playing Falcom games!

Once again, I want to give a huge thanks to everyone who helped make this Community Game-Along a success! It was a ton of fun, and I really hope everyone enjoyed sharing the Falcom love. If you're interested, be sure to check out February's Community Game-Along. The theme? Romance, of course!

Love is in the air in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn! As expected, February's seasonal event is a tie-in with Valentine's Day. In keeping with the game's tradition of "re-imagining" the names of real-world holidays for the game world, though, they've added an "o" to Valentine... I suppose it's meant to sound exotic?

As always, the Lodestone illustration for the event is simply gorgeous. Honestly, I'd probably be happy if Square Enix did away with events all together and just posted a new illustration every month! Okay, that's definitely an exaggeration, especially if they do more awesome outfits like the one you get for completing the Valentione's Day quest line!

Full event details at the Lodestone

There is absolutely no combat in this event, and it's quite straightforward, so I'm going to try to make the tutorial as snappy as possible. That means I won't have screenshots of absolutely everything, but all the info will be here for those who want it!

You'll first need to speak with Larsonient, who is located at X:11, Y:13 of the Limsa Limonsa Upper Decks. As usual, the seasonal even quests are only level 15, so most people should be able to participate. After speaking with him, you're immediately directed over to Lisette De Valentione, who gives you the first item in the Valentione clothing set, completing the quest. This unlocks three different quests, "Sweet, Sweet Love,""Right Here Waiting," and "Love Is a Battleground," which require you to spread love to the inhabitants of each of the three main cities. I suggest talking with Lisette to initiate all of the quests before setting out to complete them, as it saves time in the long run. I tackled the Limsa Limonsa quest, "Love Is a Battleground" first, but it doesn't matter what order you do them in.

The first NPC you'll need to talk to for Love Is a Battleground, O'kalkaya, is located right near Lisette at X:12, Y:13. The following tasks are extremely straightforward, so just follow the quest icon on your minimap. Completing the quest will net you two bitter heart chocolates if your character is male, or two pure heart chocolates if your character is female. Hold onto these for later!

Next, let's head over to Ul'dah! Again, the order in which you do these quests doesn't matter, as long as all three get done. The NPC you need to speak with to initiate the Sweet, Sweet Love quest is Yellow Moon, located at X:14, Y:13 in the Weaver's Guild. She wants a bunch of odd ingredients for her concoctions, so you'll need to speak with all of her admirers to acquire the required items. The first pair of admirers are located at X:11, Y:11, and the second pair are at X:10, Y:8. Completing this quest will reward you with two more chocolates.

Finally, it's off to speak with Nemoh Mainhov at X:12, Y:6 in Gridania for Right Here Waiting. She's looking for her lost lover, so you'll need to go talk to three men who look like him around X:9, Y:9. After returning to Nemoh, you'll then need to head to the North Shroud to Gwayne at X:28, Y:26. After jumping back and forth between Gridania and North Shroud, you'll finally complete the quest for another two chocolate hearts. Now you can finally return to Lisette De Valentione in Limsa Limonsa!

Your final quest, Never Say Farewell, requires you to turn in one bitter chocolate heart and one pure heart chocolate to Lisette. The only way to do this is to trade with a character of the opposite gender who has also completed the first three Valentione's quest. If you hang around Lisette, you should find others looking to trade, so be sure to let everyone know in the chat! Since I did the event quests the day they were released, there were plenty of people around looking to trade. Be sure to only trade one of your chocolates for the one you need to complete the quest, though, as you're going to need the rest to trade for the remaining items in the Valentione's outfit! Completing the Never Say Farewell quest will get you your Valentione's top and an achievement for finishing the seasonal event.

Now, the in the areas decorated for the seasonal event in each of the three cities are a House Valentione Butler <Purveyor of Love> and a House Valentione Maid <Purveyor of Love>, but the most convenient ones to access are located right near Lisette in Limsa Limonsa. No matter where you find them, make sure to trade your chocolates to the Butler for the rest of the Valentione's set and purchase some limited-time items from the Maid! The left and right Prismatic Hearts are very cute for using in screenshots with friends, so I made sure to stock up.

I'm really liking how Square Enix is switching up the formula with each event quest – the last one was very FATE-centric, so it's a nice change to not have to do any FATEs this time. And look at that outfit! All the running around was certainly worth it to see Chive in such cute garb.

The Valentione's decorations themselves are nothing special, though they are featured in every city. I don't think they really compare to the winter holiday decorations, but I suppose you can't have both a great outfit and great decorations, eh? At least I got to spend some time with other folks in their Valentione's gear. My only complaint about the event is the fact that it was a requirement to exchange chocolates with someone of the opposite gender in order to complete the quest. Really, Square Enix, it's 2014!

As I've said before, it's great to see monthly events, but I'm not sure how much longer Square Enix will be able to keep it up... I wonder what the next seasonal event will be?

Looking back, I'm surprised I made it 15 episodes without naming one of them "Anime Boyfriends." Well, the time has finally come, and who better to talk about anime boyfriend simulators (aka otome and BL games) with than Amanda Cosmos? Her background in QA brings some really interesting insight to the discussion, as well, since I know absolutely nothing about how games work beneath what I see on the screen. Don't worry if you're unfamiliar with otome or BL games – we discuss exactly what those words mean, as well as some standout titles in the genres and our own personal favorites!

Remember, February is Dating Sim Month, so there's no better time to jump into the genre!

Dating Sim Community Game-Along information: http://www.chic-pixel.com/2014/01/introducing-dating-sim-community-game.html
Amanda's Otome 101 part 1: http://acosmos.net/post/75479460804/otome-games-101-origins

Opening ♫ - Ai Catch – Goatbed
Closing ♫ - Orion de SHOUT OUT – Kishō Taniyama

[DOWNLOAD] [ITUNES] [RSS]

Combine my recent discovery of the wonderful world of figures with the resurgence of Sailor Moon merchandise to coincide with the upcoming anime and you've got a deadly combination. While I've been pretty good about not giving into temptation so far, my mom inadvertently added fuel to my addiction when she preordered a set of six Puchi Chara! Sailor Moon figures for me over the holidays.

Jlist has finally started sending out those preorders, and I was beyond thrilled to receive mine in the mail on Friday. Since I never buy this sort of thing, I had no idea what to expect... Sets come with six random figures, and the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Max have two different designs each, making for a possibility of 12 different figures to get. According to the box, some lucky people even get Luna and Artemis figures! But what would be in store for me?

Really, they're all adorable, so I wasn't really worried about getting one over the other, but I have to say Tuxedo Mask without his mask is pretty high on my "want" list.

I suppose it goes without saying to expect lots of gratuitous photos in this post...

It also goes without saying that I made sure to keep the box in pristine condition! It's too cute to just throw away.

Here you can see the six individual boxes the set comes with. You can generally buy singles of these kind of random boxed toys in shops in Japan, but (crazy) fans like me will preorder a whole set in order to try and collect them all.

More adorable packaging... Note the 20th anniversary Sailor Moon logo at the bottom left of the box. There's also a little note saying that the figures themselves are each 60 mm tall.

I was pretty surprised to find out that the figures have a couple of joints in them, allowing for some minor pose changes. You can alter the angle of the head and twist the legs around a bit. Oh, and these toys are for children ages 15 and up, so it looks like I'm safe.

But what about the figures themselves? Opening each box is a real treat since you have no idea what's going to be inside. I won't hold you all in suspense any longer – I actually got one of each of the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask, which means I have a complete set. No doubles! Plus, my Sailor Moon came with Luna and Sailor Venus came with Artemis. I don't know if that means that I'm super lucky or that each box of six is guaranteed to come with one of each of the characters, but since I was prepared to get at least one double, I was definitely impressed. I'd love to know what others got, though!

Sailor Moon type A with Luna

The figures themselves are very nice quality – they have a good weight to them and the sculpts look really great considering how small they are. Each character came in at least three parts: head, torso, and legs, which needed to be assembled after opening. While I didn't expect this, it gives an added flexibility to how they're displayed, allowing for some minor changes in the angle of the head, etc.

What I don't like about the Puchi Chara! Sailor Moon series, however, is the pegs that connect the figures to their stands. They're made out of extremely cheap, flimsy plastic, and I actually managed to break two of them while trying to set them all up (technically, I broke one and my father-in-law broke another, but that's a long and boring story). If you look closely at the picture above, you should be able to see a crack near where the peg connects to the bottom of Venus's base. I was able to glue it and bring it back to a functional state, but I don't think it's unfair of me to say that I was really disappointed in the quality of the stands compared to the quality of the figures.

Now that I've learned from my mistakes, though, I do have a suggestion to anyone who has bought or is planning on buying the Puchi Chara! figurine series: be sure to assemble the figure and connect it to the peg before attaching the peg to the stand. Then, after the peg has been secured in the stand, adjust the position of the figure on the stand by moving the figure around, not the peg itself. When I broke the peg, it was because I tried to adjust the angle of the peg from where it attached to the stand. Don't make the same mistake! Let me tell you, it's no fun at all to break a toy you've literally just opened.

Sailor Jupiter type A

Aside from the peg issue, I'm really happy with these figures. I'm even happier now that I've got them all assembled and looking great. Sailor Jupiter here is the other figure whose peg got broken, but you really can't tell, right? Right?!

Sailor Venus type B with Artemis

Sailor Venus could maybe use a little adjusting, but I wanted to make sure the glue on her peg had completely dried before fiddling around with her positioning. Still, I'm happy that you can't see that something was broken from the front.

Sailor Mars type A

If you look really closely, you can see each character has their symbol etched into their base. It's a really neat touch!

Sailor Mercury type B

Sailor Mercury is probably my favorite of the inner scouts, and I'm really happy I got her B version! She looks super adorable in that pose with both her eyes closed.

Tuxedo Mask type A

Tuxedo Mask is actually the figure with the most detail in the collection. Both his cloak and his hat are removable, and he even gets a rose to hold (though it's not removable).

Tuxedo sans hat

I have to say, I wasn't sure how much I'd like little figure like these, but the whole experience of opening the boxes and not knowing what I was going to get combined with the great quality of the figures themselves overall has me totally in love with this set. So in love, in fact, that I've... gone and preordered the Outer Senshi set!

I must not be the only one in love with the Puchi Chara! Sailor Moon series, as they're already reissuing them. Preorders are open now, with a scheduled release sometime in June. If you're interested in purchasing the Puchi Chara! Sailor Moon six piece set for yourself, you can do so at Jlist, Play-Asia, or Ami Ami! I can personally vouch for each of them, but if you order form Jlist or Play-Asia, I'll get a small commission which all goes toward supporting content on this site.

Finally, I hope you liked this "Swooning Over" post – I've been trying to find a way to showcase a few odds and ends I've picked up in recent months without "reviewing" them per say, and I think this will be a good fit. There should be more in the near future, but in the meantime please do let me know what you think!

Forgive the double figure-related posts, but if you haven't noticed already, I may be a little obsessed! And you know what's the worst event for a new figure fan? Wonder Festival. Wonder Festival, or WonFes for short, is a bi-annual event for Japanese figure companies to show off their latest sculpts and announce exciting new additions to their catalogue. It's a great chance to see what everyone is working on, but it's not so great for your wallet!

As I've mentioned in the past, I'm not particularly interested in non-posable figures, so for the purposes of this post, I'm going to focus on newly-announced and upcoming posable figures from the company I'm most interested in as a new fan, Good Smile Company.

Of course, the figure I'm most excited for right now is the 2014 Snow Miku Nendoroid! The more I see of her, the more I can't wait to get my hands on one! As you can see in the first image, she comes with her own storage book that also doubles as a display stand. Her bunny familiar, magical wand, and witch's cap are all so adorable! I also love that she comes with a mini stack of books. Note the details in the second picture, such as the snowflakes in her pupils and the quaint design on her dress! Amazing.

Perhaps the most exciting announcement of the day was Sakura Kinomoto (Card Captor Sakura) Nendoroid! Apparently this figure has been in the works for a while, but this is our first time seeing it, and I have to say I can't wait to see her other facial expressions and additional parts. It's a little unfortunate that she appears to be holding that Clow Card with her middle finger, though!

Next up is Aoba Seragaki and his AllMate (familiar), Ren, of the boys' love game DRAMAtical Murder. To my knowledge, this is the first character from a BL to get a Nendoroid, so needless to say I'm extremely excited. I think his colorful character design will translate really well to Nendoroid form, and I can't wait to see the painted sculpt! I hope he sells well enough to encourage more male Nendoroids, perhaps even other DRAMAtical Murder characters.

Other exciting Nendoroid announcements include some more game-related figures: Solid Snake (Snaaake!!), Wind Waker Link, and Rina Ozawa (Touch Detective), who comes with her own Funghi! While they all look like they're going to be pretty awesome, I don't think I'll end up getting any of them unless GSC comes out with some really stellar accessories. I imagine Snake, in particular, though, would be a lot of fun to pose!

While Nendoroids are easy for me to swoon over, I'm not as quick to jump on the more "realistic" figmas. The above Snow Miku, however, is too cute to resist. I love the gradient on her hair, and the adorable snowman statue (he's even holding a microphone!). Other Miku-related figures that caught my eye include this year's racing Miku design and this adorable schoolgirl Miku figma (the same design is also getting a Nendoroid).

One thing's for sure: after seeing Good Smile Company's offerings at the first Wonder Festival of the year, I know I'm going to need to hold on tight to my wallet if I want it to make it through 2014 in one piece! What about you? Have any of these figures caught your fancy, or do you think I'm completely nuts?

When I decided February's Community Game-Along should be all about romance and dating sims, I had absolutely no idea whether it would be as big a hit as January's Falcom theme. Imagine my surprise when it quickly turned out to be vastly more popular than its predecessor! The combination of some friends in high places helping me get the word out more and what I assume to be the gaming community's skeptical fascination with dating sims in general has really helped lots of folks jump into the genre over the past couple weeks. And honestly, that's all I ever wanted to achieve with these Community Game-Alongs, so I'm really glad to see people enjoying them!

“I funded this theme park with all that Mighty No 9 Kickstarter money. Ha suckers” #DatingSiMonth http://t.co/BZHjReCKEV
— Badr Alomair (@BadoorSNK) February 4, 2014

First of all, I need to give a massive shout out to my buddy Elliot Gay, who was kind enough to start a Dating Sim Month thread on NeoGAF! Since I'm still only a junior member (what can I say, I never post!), I'm not able to make threads of my own, so I would've never been able to have one without his help! It's a great place to interact with other participants if you prefer doing so in a forum setting. While folks seemed really excited to join in when it was first announced, things have slowed down significantly in the past week or so, so I hope that doesn't mean interest is waning...

The Dating Sim Community Game-Along was also picked up by Chic Pixel friend and prolific writer Pete Davison. He's been dedicating his weekly JPGamer column over at USGamer.net to dating sims, which has done wonders for getting the word out about some niche titles available in English, as well as this event in general! His first installment focuses on Aselia: The Eternal and comes with a great introduction to the term "dating sim" and all the nuances that surround it. Aselia: The Eternal is unique in that it combines RPG battles and traditional romance visual novel gameplay, making it a more interactive experience than many other dating sims currently available in English. The second game he covers, Magical Diary, however, is an otome game by a western developer, which is something we haven't seen many participants tackle so far.

"Magical Diary really highlights one of the best things about dating sims and relationship-centric visual novels: the fact that the relative lack of other 'gameplay,' for want of a better term, allows developers and writers to focus on exploring characters in an extremely in-depth manner, both as individuals and as parts of a relationship."– Pete Davison, JPGamer: Dating Sim Month: Magical Diary

I believe this is the first time we've had video submissions, as well – Tobiichi Karlsson has done a series of Let's Play videos of the Japanese PSone game Magical Date! She chronicles the entire playthough in four videos, which are definitely worth a watch just to see all the weird mini-games.

I was unaware that Snake was in Sakura Wars 3. What a pleasant surprise! #DatingSiMonth pic.twitter.com/8BZeh18i4D
— Elliot Gay (@RyougaSaotome) February 3, 2014

But that's not the end of the dating sim video content – Pete dives head on into the Love Plus fan translation, and put his adventures up on YouTube for all to see.

Marcus over at Pixel Pacas also did a news piece about this little shindig. Thanks, Marcus!

Falcom Month contributor Davzz returns with a very interesting niche pick, Mujintō Monogatari R for the Sega Saturn! This bishojō game finds the male player character stranded on a tropical island with, you guessed it, a bunch of cute high school girls. The game is unique in that it actually has you managing your party members and scraping to survive by scrounging for food and attempting to be rescued while at the same time trying to woo the ladies. What is even more interesting, as Davzz notes, is that the game actually had male romance routes in the original PC version, but they were removed for the Saturn port. It's very rare to find a bishojō game with male suitors!

Kamion over at Gaoism decided to join in the fun, and her first game for the month is an odd little otome title called Otometeki Koi Kakumei★Love Revo!. The whacky and rather offensive game's premise revolves around, if you can believe it, losing weight to get the guy of your dreams. I actually have a copy of this on the PS2, and am considering popping it in for this month's festivities... if I can stomach it!

So much fluffiness (´∀｀) Well, first route cleared, time to go after the tsundere brother #猛獣使いと王子様 #DatingSiMonth pic.twitter.com/BEOCrmWyZM
— エクセレン (@_Exelen) February 2, 2014

While I had a rather bad track record during Falcom Month (just organizing is a lot of work, you know!), I've already made my first submission to Dating Sim Month in the form of a podcast with the lovely Amanda Cosmos! Be sure to give it a listen if you are at all interested in dating sims aimed at a female audience. In a related piece, Amanda gives a great introduction to otome games, starting with the origins of the genre, on her own blog. It's definitely worth checking out if you're new to the genre!

Finally, Kerry Brunskill, aka Kimimi, wrote a very interesting piece for Push Square regarding her feelings playing Mōjūtsukai to Ōjisama and how nice it felt to be catered towards as a female gamer for once. I definitely would like to see more posts like this that explore how playing dating sims (and romance sims, visual novels, etc. etc.) make people feel!

"As someone’s who’s trained herself to sharp-elbow her way into a hobby that can be unwelcoming and in some cases downright threatening to anyone that’s not part of the perceived ‘norm’, it’s a strangely novel feeling to come across a series that’s actively pursuing me as a consumer."– Kerry Brunskill, Soapbox: How a Niche PS Vita Exclusive Made Me Feel Wanted

Check out Voltage otome games. ♡♡ We have new episodes & discounts during #DatingSiMonth! ♡♡♡ https://t.co/flFzAitJ1q pic.twitter.com/G1AaAUGkQa
— Voltage Ent. (@VoltageRomance) February 4, 2014

As always, I'm sorry I can't include every tweet or forum post! If I've missed your article, though, please let me know and I'll be sure to include it in the next one. For future Community Game-Alongs, I may stick to a bi-monthly roundup schedule, as keeping to weekly roundups proved a little too tall of an order for me. But if you have a preference, please let me know so I can consider it for next month! Also, it may seem early, but I'm already starting to think about next month's theme, so feel free to shoot me any theme ideas. But I'm getting ahead of myself – let's be sure to end Dating Sim Month with a bang!

As another month comes to a close, it's time to start thinking about next month's Community Game-Along! March is a bit of a toughie, considering some big releases are coming such as Dark Souls II, Final Fantasy X|X-2 HD, and Deception IV: Blood Ties (okay, that last one's for me). As such, it was rather difficult to come up with a good theme that people could participate in while still having time to play all the exciting new releases.

After much deliberation and considering your suggestions, I've decided to dub March... MonMonth! As you've probably already guessed from the title, March will be dedicated to all things Monster Hunter and its clones. Let's face it, Monster Hunter has proved to be so popular, particularly in Japan, that it has pretty much become its own genre of games. Rather than limit the month to specifically Monster Hunter games, especially considering how notoriously difficult the series is for newcomers, I've decided the best way to celebrate would be with any Monster Hunter-like titles. And did you know March 11th also happens to be the 10th anniversary of the original Monster Hunter for the PlayStation 2? Good timing, eh? (I swear it was all according to plan)

If you're scratching your head for ideas of what to play, here are a few places to get started:

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate(3DS, Wii U) – The most obvious pick, Monster Hunter 3U is the latest Monster Hunter game to come out in English, and the Wii U version even supports online play for hunting with friends all over the world. Whether you're new to the series or looking to raise your hunter rank a few levels, this is a great place to start. Those who speak Japanese and/or want to be on the cutting edge should definitely check out Monster Hunter 4, as it's the first portable Monster Hunter game to have solid online connectivity. If you've always wanted to try a Monster Hunter game but have always been too intimidated to dive in, I highly suggest picking up Culty's Monster Hunter Beginner's Guide!

Don't forget to check out MyFairHunter.com for some great gameplay videos and tips!
(source)

Toukiden: The Age of Demons (PS Vita) – If you want to be on the cutting edge of the English release side of the gaming spectrum, look no further than Toukiden. This feudal Japanese monster hunting game only just came out on February 11th and has been met with a very positive reception so far. If Monster Hunter is too intimidating, this would be a great place to start, especially considering the online multiplayer should still be bustling throughout March. It's also worth noting that the game has a robust demo available, and save data transfers over to the full version, so it's a great way to check the game out before committing to a purchase.

Soul Sacrifice (PS Vita) – Soul Sacrifice is Keiji Inafune's attempt to get a piece of the Monster Hunter pie, but it manages to set itself apart in a number of ways. The game's aesthetic is much darker than its hunting brethren, and it has both a unique magic system and a save vs. sacrifice mechanic that effects your character's growth as well as appearance. Like Toukiden, Soul Sacrifice has a free demo available that provides a good 5+ hours of gameplay, and save data is compatible with the full version of the game. If you're lucky and have a PS+ account, you may even already have a copy of this one! In addition, the game's sequel, Soul Sacrifice Delta, will be launching in Japan during MonMonth, making a it a timely release to pick up if you want the latest and greatest.

Ragnarok Odyssey(PS Vita) – Without a doubt, Ragnarok Odyssey is the anime-ified cousin of the Monster Hunter series. While Toukiden is steeped in Japanese lore and Soul Sacrifice goes for a dark, almost gruesome look, Ragnarok Odyssey is all about bright, colorful, fantasy anime worlds. It also happens to be on sale on the North American PSN store until Monday, March 3rd, so for $20 or less you too could jump in on the MonMonth festivities. The only thing to keep in mind with this one is that an updated version, Ragnarok Odyssey ACE, will be coming out on April 1st, but luckily save data from Ragnarok Odyssey does transfer over to ACE. Fans of colorful games and juggling enemies may want to check this one out.

The great thing about Monster Hunter games and their brethren is that you really don't have to "complete" them to get the full experience, which is why I think they'll be great for such a busy gaming month. This will also be the first month where participants can actually play the Game-Along titles with one another, which should make it even more fun than previous Community Game-Alongs!

UPDATE: I've made a Google Doc for folks to add their Friend Codes and IDs to to facilitate multiplayer sessions, so be sure to add yours to that if you'd like to participate!

As always, the aim of the Game-Along is to play games within the theme and talk/write about them, so be sure to utilize #MonMonth on whatever social media (Twitter, Instagram) you like to use! We'll also be using #MonMonth to organize multiplayer gaming sessions, and I hope to see a lot of folks trying out some games for the first time and writing about their experiences! I'll be doing two roundup posts of articles and content created over the month, so be sure to put your contributions where I can see it if you want it included. If anyone is interested in helping me with a NeoGAF thread for the month, please get in touch with me in the comments.

So what are you waiting for? Pick out a title or two and get ready – the hunt commences March 1st!

Considering Monster Hunter is one of the biggest game franchises in Japan, it should come as no surprise that Capcom would want to celebrate the series'10th anniversary this month with some special collaborations! It just so happens that I also picked the month of March to do a Monster Hunter Community Game-Along, so what better time to drool over some exclusive Japan-only Monster Hunter goodies?

Of course, the biggest 10th anniversary event is, without a doubt, the Monster Hunter the REAL installation at Universal Studios Japan, which features "life"-size versions of the iconic monsters from the series. If you're lucky enough to be in Osaka from February 1st to May 11th, then you may privy to some of these cool/adorable sights:

A dapper, life-size Felyne!

Such a detailed costume!

Tigrex covered in snow!

Of course, they've also got a tasty-looking Felyne treat:

Felyne nikuman (steamed meat bun)!

There will also be a variety of limited edition goods that only those who attend the event at USJ will be able to purchase, such as a backpack designed to look like Monster Hunter 4's new insect rod, Felyne chocolates, and an adorable Felyne statue. You can view all the items in the collection at the official website!

Perhaps even more interesting than the limited Universal Studios Japan items, though, are the Monster Hunter-themed food products that will be gracing the shelves of regular convenience stores. Check these out:

First are these Monster Hunter-themed Bikkuriman Chocolates! Not only do the packages have a great design, but they come with one of 24 different Monster Hunter stickers for devout fans to collect. The chocolates go on sale on March 25th, and I know I'd love to get my hands on a couple!

Next are a whole slew of special Dodekamin Great energy drinks! The contents aren't any different than usual, but there are certainly tons of designs to collect! I'm definitely partial to the Felyne designs, of which they are four – one side features a cartoon-y illustration, while the other a more "realistic" Felyne. The 10 game designs below, however, feature a different monster to celebrate each different game released over the series' 10 year history! Pretty cool, but that's a lot of Dodekamin Great to drink if you want to collect one of each design! These drinks will be debuting on March 18th.

There are many more collaborative items I haven't even begun to cover, like these Monster Hunter gummies, so if you like to torture yourself by looking at things that will never be available outside of Japan like me, head on over to the official Monster Hunter 10th anniversary website!

I should probably start planning my trips to Japan around these sorts of events...

I don't know about you, but my jealousy towards Japan comes in waves. During certain months it seems as though there's practically nothing swoon-worthy in the way of limited or exclusive merchandise that makes me curse the day I chose to move to Australia over Japan, while other seasons make it impossible to ignore all of the awesome-looking collaborations and campaigns. This is probably related more to how often I seek out such things than the actual frequency of which they occur, but this year there seems to be something special about spring...

Now that I've finally had my "Miku fan" switch turned on, I have the potential to be exposed to approximately 150% more adorable campaigns and tie-in merchandise than ever before, which, as you can probably imagine, is great for me, but horrible for my wallet. Today I'd like to talk about one such recurring event that I only became aware of recently: the Good Smile Kuji.

You may recall that Good Smile Company does a lot of figures and are well-known for their Nendoroid and figma lines. In addition, they make countless character goods, and twice a year they hold a "kuji," or lottery, for Vocaloid fans to try their hand at winning a number of adorable items, including some exclusive figures. This spring's lottery starts on Saturday, March 8th at 6 pm at Family Mart and Tsutaya stores around Japan, and is chock full with awesome looking prizes:

Graphic ABS figures – 6 designs

Vinyl bag and charm set – 4 types

Rice bowl set – 4 types

The first and greatest thing about the Good Smile Kuji that you need to know is that you'll win a prize for every ticket you buy. For a mere 762 yen plus tax (approximately $8), participants are guaranteed one of these items! Purchasing a ticket gives you the chance to stick your hand in a box and pull out a slip of paper that will have the a letter from A to H written on it. These letters correspond with which prize you'll get! For letters like the ones pictured above, you'll only be able to choose one design out of all of the available options per ticket.

Design tote bags – 2 types
Family Mart designs pictures on left, Tsutaya on right

Tulip piggy bank – Rin-chan version and Ren-kun version
(2 types)

Nap set (neck pillow and eye mask)

Here are the next three prizes, thus concluding the "less exciting" tier of items. I would say "less rare" because I assume they will be much more common than the limited edition figures coming up, but I have absolutely no idea what the win ratio for any of these might be. I'm going to assume the graphic ABS figures (H) will be the most common since there are so many of them – that way people will at least be able to pick different designs when they get duplicates.

It's interesting to note that the design tote bags (E) are the only ones that will be different depending on whether you go to Family Mart (a convenience store) or Tsutaya (a film/music/game rental store). Based on the designs shown, which store would you head to?

Hatsune Miku school uniform version figma

Hatsune Miku school uniform version Nendoroid

Now for the big ticket items! (I'm not going to apologize for that expertly-played pun) Considering the A prize is the Nendoroid and not the figma, I'm going to guess that that's the rarest item. They're both pretty adorable, don't you think? Though Hatsune Miku has been made into numerous figmas and Nendoroids, the various details such as her glasses and headphones make these two pretty unique. But that's not all...

Hatsune Miku school uniform special color version Nendoroid

One lucky person at each store will win this alternate Hatsune Miku school uniform version Nendoroid! To get your hands on one, you have to be the very last person to purchase a lottery ticket at a participating Family Marts or Tsutaya. Which do you prefer, this or the regular color?

Finally, those who purchase 5 tickets will be entered into what I suppose is considered the real "lottery." The prize is a special tapestry illustrated by KEI, which will be given to only 390 people in the whole country. I suppose it's safe to guess that it will feature school uniform Miku in some form, too? The below image by KEI is the inspiration behind the school uniform Miku line and is also being used to promote the kuji event as well as the Miku Loves Family Mart 3rd Campaign: Fun Spring Music Festival (wow that's a mouthful), so I bet we'll be seeing a variation of the same illustration on the tapestry, too.

I have to say, if I were to enter this lottery, I'd actually be pretty happy with any of the items! My least favorites are the graphic ABS figure and the nap set, but they're not exactly bad, and I'd be pretty stoked to win any of the other prizes. If I had to pick a "must-have," it would definitely be the rice bowls, tote bags, and, of course, the Nendoroid. She even comes with a little piano!

Sadly, the likelihood that I'll ever get my hands on most of these items is probably pretty slim. Luckily for folks like me, though, many resellers will be pawning off the Good Smile Kuji merchandise in the upcoming weeks, months, and even years! But be careful – the figures, in particular, will go for insane prices at first, but they should settle down to something more reasonable in the upcoming months. I wonder if I'll still be pining away over the school uniform Miku by then!

Bonus: It's only vaguely related, but this illustration and logo for the Family Mart x Hatsune Miku Menu Development Project kills me:

We're well into the Monster Hunter 10th Anniversary Community Game-Along, but there's still some content from last month's dating sim event to catch up on! Interest did seem to drop off towards the second half of the month, both in the NeoGAF thread and content produced, but there are still plenty of articles worth sharing. I contributed a dating sim-themed podcast featuring Amanda Cosmos earlier in the month, so be sure to give that a listen if you haven't already!

No context necessary #DatingSiMonth pic.twitter.com/X4xDReDcuF
— Badr Alomair (@BadoorSNK) February 19, 2014

First, Pete Davison continued his dating sim game picks for his weekly column JPgamer at USGamer with Kira Kiraand Go! Go! Nippon. Kira Kira is a character-driven visual novel that Pete describes as a "good, accessible example of how games like this can tackle some significant narrative challenges and tell a compelling, convincing and believable story about some very normal characters" that also happens to have some romance themes. Go! Go! Nippon, on the other hand, is both a dating sim and an interactive guide to Japan, and even offers text in both English in Japanese for language learners. The game was recently made available on Steam, making it one of the more accessible titles covered for Dating Sim Month, and sounds like a great choice for a heterosexual otaku (or, at least, someone who doesn't mind playing a game clearly aimed at the heterosexual otaku demographic) looking to brush up on their knowledge of Japan.

Tried DreamClub thanks to PS+ & I liked it. Maybe I should've played that for #DatingSiMonth instead of Sweet Fuse :P pic.twitter.com/i6EeoLJhSw
— Wassim Forrester (@Soulhouf) February 26, 2014

Meanwhile, Bryan over at The Gay Gamer has been chronicling his journey through Sweet Fuse: At Your Side, culminating with his Great Gaymation review of the 2013 PSP otome game. Sweet Fuse is usually the first otome game I recommend to folks interested in trying out the genre, so I was very interested to hear how it stacked up for him. Overall, his impressions are very positive, but he does lament that the romance visual novel staple of choosing the correct options in order to get the romance desired is more obtuse than it should be. If you're at all interested in giving the game a try, his review is definitely worth checking out!

All CGs! Loved Sweet Fuse. All the characters were diverse but still likeable. My fav otome game! #DatingSiMonth pic.twitter.com/llofI9kx5Y
— Ru Yi (@Westraid) February 27, 2014

Patrick over at Nintendo Everything wrote a brilliant, insightful piece about LovePlus, that notorious "hella heteronormative 'girlfriend simulator'" for the Nintendo DS (note to self: make opportunities to use the phrase "hella heteronormative" more often). Not only does he describe the game's systems in great depth, but he talks at length at exactly how the game goes about creating an interactive romance simulation, concluding, "if the game has the potential to make players approach actual relationships with more care and respect, I think that’s a really positive thing." Even if you're not interested in playing LovePlus, Patrick's article is a must read, as it touches on themes that are applicable to all games in the genre.

Finally, Brian Clark tries his hand at his very first dating sim: Sakura Taisen! While the first few chapters dragged on for him, he claims that the game's overall polished presentation and combination of simulation and SRPG elements were what managed to hook him in the end. Unfortunately the game is only available in Japanese, but Brian's article does a great job of providing a nice overview of the game for those who want to know more but aren't planning on springing for a copy.

Spent my last night of #DatingSiMonth with Kent and his buckles #Amnesia pic.twitter.com/H6SJJpCev1
— Anne Fujosushi Lee (@apricotsushi) February 28, 2014

I'd like to give a huge thanks to everyone who participated in the Dating Sim Community Game-Along during the month of February! The month may be over, but that doesn't mean you should stop seeking out and playing these awesome dating sims! Hopefully this and the first roundup post will provide some good suggestions for future games to add to your library. And if you're looking to continue with the Game-Along fun, be sure to join in on this month's Monster Hunter Game-Along!

Chic Pixel Plus is back after a month absence with everyone's favorite man in Japan, Elliot Gay! We've been keeping ourselves busy, so there's plenty to talk about. Two and a half hours of things to talk about, in fact!

Elliot lives to tell the tale of his encounter with the 5 meter Attack on Titan burger, watches the Persona 3 movie, and plays Puyo Puyo Tetris and Toushin Toshi. I slowly turn into Hatsune Miku, play Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai 2 and Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, and watch The Wind Rises. We also talk about a whole slew of interesting news including our favorite announcements from Bit Summit, have a weird tangent on meat and potatoes, and answer a bunch of listener questions!

Note: Once again, I got the episode number wrong during recording! This is definitely episode 16, not 17. Sorry about that!

Elliot's Persona 3 movie article: http://www.japanator.com/impressions-persona-3-the-movie-1-spring-of-birth-31587.phtml
Monster Hunter 10th Anniversary Community Game-Along info: http://www.chic-pixel.com/2014/02/introducing-monster-hunter-10th.html

Opening ♫ - Monokuma-Sensei's Lesson – Masafumi Takada
Closing ♫ - Burn My Dread -Spring of Birth ver.- – Shōji Meguro

[DOWNLOAD] [ITUNES] [RSS]

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Final Fantasy XIV Dragon Quest X and Final Fantasy XI Event Tutorials + Impressions

Chic Pixel Plus Episode 14 – Let Me Show You My Totems

Monster Monpiece added to growing list of niche Japanese games coming out in English this year

A closer look at the Pokémon Center Pikachu Face Cookies

Introducing the Dating Sim Community Game-Along!

Falcom Community Game-Along Wrap-Up (Weeks 3 + 4)

Final Fantasy XIV Valentione's Event Tutorial + Impressions

Chic Pixel Plus Episode 15 – Anime Boyfriends

Swooning Over Puchi Chara! Sailor Moon Figures

Chic Pixel's Best of Wonder Festival 2014: Good Smile Company

Dating Sim Community Game-Along Roundup #1

Introducing the Monster Hunter 10th Anniversary Community Game-Along!

Japan Envy: Monster Hunter 10th Anniversary Goods

Japan Envy: 2014 Spring Good Smile Kuji Merchandise

Dating Sim Community Game-Along Roundup #2

Chic Pixel Plus Episode 16 – Three Denpa Men and One Bad Segueway Away