Sumioni initial impressions... and pizza!

Basically what I look like when I try to play video games

I debated calling this article "why I suck at video games" but that would be defeatist, now wouldn't it? But let me take a moment to me recall a recent scenario for you:

I'm playing Sumioni, a PS Vita downloadable title, for review. Being the good, timely reviewer I am, I dive right into it, playing whenever I have a free moment. Enter the first boss of the game: A glowing, floating eyeball thing with pointy projectiles, that also happens to be the final boss for the game's first ending (yes, ending – I'll clarify momentarily). You know, the first and second tries don't really count, since you have to get used to the enemy's patterns, right? Well, yours truly probably clocked in at about 10 tries before throwing in the towel and handing the shiny black handheld over to my husband, who hadn't touched the game before that moment. I throw him into the deep end and have him restart the level I'm currently on – why waste time replaying earlier levels just so he can learn the ropes? 

Shaun beat that boss in two tries. That's once to figure out all of the game's controls and the boss's attack patterns, and a second time to get 'er done, as they say. I knew my husband was a fiend when it comes to games (you should see him play DotA...), but I was not prepared for immense gap in our skill levels. Does that mean that Sumioni is disgustingly hard, or even more difficult than your average platformer? Well... probably not, because I already knew I was pretty bad at gaming. But it makes for a good story, eh? 

That said, I've only gone through the first two endings of the game so far (with help from Shaun, of course). You get a rating at the end of each level (which so far have only taken about 2-4 minutes to complete) which will dictate how you will progress on the level "tree." There are a total of six endings, the first being the easiest to obtain and that last, which I assume is the "best," being the hardest. You'll need to get a lot of 2 and 3 star level ratings to follow the tree down to the better endings, which means replaying the initial levels a lot of times. The fact that the game doesn't really tell you how it scores you at the end of each level is a little confusing, but from what I gather it's based on the usual stuff: how much damage you've incurred and how long it took you to clear the level. 

Graphically, I'm quite fond of the game. Many have compared it to Okami, and it's true that they're both based on the Japanese art form known as sumi-e, but Okami was so much more colorful and vibrant than Sumioni, so I think in the end the comparison is pretty arbitrary. The backgrounds are rather sparse, much like sumi-e paintings, but so far have been pretty varied between levels. I've been seeing a lot of the same enemies, though... Let's hope that changes as I progress further. 

And what self-respecting Japanese game
would be complete without a cute princess?

Sumioni utilizes the front and back touch pads in a continuation of the sumi-e theme by allowing you to draw platforms and execute spells by swiping the screen as if your fingertip were a paintbrush. At the same time, you'll be controlling your demon's movements with the analog stick or directional buttons, and jumping and attacking with x and square, respectively (I find I prefer using up on the analog stick to jump, though). When your ink meter runs out, and it will run out, you'll need to rub the back touch pad in order to recover ink. Let tell you, this happens a lot. I don't know if it's the way I play, but in boss battles in particular, my pattern of actions goes something like this: thunder magic, fire magic, swipe swipe swipe rear touch pad. Rinse and repeat. You'll need to be fast, and regaining your ink feels so painfully slow... It's a fun mechanic but I'm finding it a little hard to get used to. For one, it gets tiring swiping so furiously after a while! Drawing platforms on the screen to evade enemies and position yourself for optimal attacks never gets old, though. 

From what I'm hearing the game doesn't take more than 6-8 hours to complete, so I should be able to finish my playthrough and have my review up before the week is out. Until then, feel free to ask any questions if you're at all interested in this title and I'll do my best to answer them!

Oh, wait. Did someone say... pizza?

Yup, that's right! And not any pizza. Sumioni pizza. The few blogs I read that covered this interesting collaboration seemed rather disgusted by the prospect, but I have to say, if I lived in Japan, I would've ordered that pizza the day it was released. As it stands, it the promotion was just concluded yesterday, unfortunately.

This awesome pizza not only has squid ink sauce to make it look like it was splattered with ink, but also those funny looking pointed crust pieces that are meant to look like demon's horns, or so the advertisement says. Other toppings include cheese (of course), basil, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and actual squid. 

So, the big question is: Would YOU eat it? I'm personally salivating at the very thought. 

"Poison has a Stick" may be the best idea for a joystick mod ever

Let me profess that I literally know next to nothing about joystick modification. In fact, I'm not much of a fighting game fan in general, though I am known to rock a pretty solid Lee in Tekken and Arc Systems Works is always on my radar for their sleek titles (I'm looking at you, BlazBlue Continuum Shift Extend Vita). In fact, I can honestly say that I've never played more than 5 minutes of a Street Fighter game (or Final Fight, for that matter), and as such I know next to nothing about the intriguing, pink-haired character known as Poison who will be making an appearance in the roster of Street Fighter X Tekken... Except for the fact that she is famous for being a transgendered female character. Which I think is thoroughly awesome, if you had any doubts.

Long-time games writer shidoshi (who you may know as @pikoeri) echoes my sentiments – he even got the chance to interview Yoshinori Ono about Poison, and he refrained from any of the usual snide remarks that most so-called games "journalists" make when talking about her. I highly suggest checking the interview out if you haven't seen it already.

But now you must allow me to get right into the meat of this post: the beautiful Poison-themed joystick mod shidoshi has created, aptly named "Poison has a Stick":

Beautiful, is it not? I'd play a fighter with that joystick any day of the week. For clarification on the little innuendo you may have picked up on regarding the interesting placement of the joystick, here are shidoshi's thoughts in his own words:

"[...] This stick wasn’t made with the intention of making fun of the character Poison or her “is or isn’t she transgender” status, nor was it done simple for some sort of cheap “it’s a trap” connection. I mean, of course—the design was absolutely done in good fun and with a lot of humor—but it was done in celebration of the character of Poison, not in mocking her or what she is." (source)

Now excuse me while I go brush up on my fighting skills so I can justify a snazzy joystick purchase – it's just too bad this one's one of a kind!

UPDATE: shidoshi posted over on his Twitter this amazing picture of none other than Yoshinori Ono holding the aforementioned joystick at a Street Fighter X Tekken event! How awesome is that?

Japan Envy: Limited edition game consoles, Kingdom Hearts edition

Sometimes I feel like I could just throw my money in Square Enix's general direction. I know that's a funny thing to say, given my recent disdain for certain Final Fantasy titles that will not be mentioned, but for some reason I keep going back to Square Enix for more, particularly when it comes to Kingdom Hearts. The release date and a limited edition 3DS for the latest Kingdom Hearts title have been announced, and I am really liking the 3DS's design.

source

Even if you don't like Kingdom Hearts, you've got to admit that's a pretty sleek design! I particularly like the pink crown and the contrast it provides. Now, I've never bought a limited edition console before, and I'm definitely not going to start here, but that won't stop me drooling over it a little bit.

Kingdom Hearts 3D will be released on March 29th in Japan, which is soon enough that I think it's high time we catch wind of a localization (c'mon, it's bound to happen). Of course, if you want the 3DS, you're going to have to import. The first print run of the game will also include a limited edition AR card, which unlocks a difficult to obtain Dream Eater in the game.

Square Enix also sent out a few new screenshots for the game. One, in particular, is pretty interesting to me:

Now maybe I've been out of the loop, but I honestly didn't realize Axel would be in the game (those of you who've played Kingdom Hearts should know why). Admittedly I was a bit of an Axel fangirl back in the day, so it's nice to see him make a comeback.

EDIT: Well, it has quickly come to my attention that I am incorrect! That's not Axel, but Lea, as is evident in his lack of certain distinct facial markings. I haven't played enough of Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep to know much about Lea, and I won't spoil it for you all, but needless to say he isn't all that different from Axel. Now finishing Birth By Sleep before Kingdom Hearts 3D comes out is a top priority! 

Though I should probably know better than to get too excited for a Kingdom Hearts title these days, I'm going to continue to be optimistic for this one. Are any of you planning on picking it up when it comes out? 

The Great 2011 Holiday Haul

I get my jollies from finding games marked down like this. I actually scored this one for $14

Before I begin, I must clarify that by "holiday" I am referring from the month period between mid-December and mid-January. Truth be told, there was only one game waiting for me under the tree Christmas morning (Mario Kart 7), but I did acquire quite a number of titles with Christmas/birthday money and the after holiday sales. But enough of that, on to the games!

That's a lot of Wii games...

Amazingly enough, all of the games I purchased are not included in the above picture. Not pictured are Alice: Madness Returns, Shadows of the Damned, Rayman Origins (all three received from a sweet Twitter friend who works at EA Australia), Cursed Mountain (which I bought today), and Fatal Frame II, which is currently en route (an online order). Oh, and it's also worth noting that Sakura Wars~So Long, My Love~ was also given to me by another awesome Twitter friend who happened to have an extra copy. I cannot wait to try it out!

Out of all my purchases, I'm most excited for Little King's Story and The Legend of Starfy. I have been waiting to find a copy of Starfy new for $20 or less for ages now, and I got mine for $14! Oh, do I love a good deal. Little King's Story is quite hard to find in Australia these days, and I scored it for $13 used at an EB Games, but since I traded in the copy of Mario Kart Wii I got with my Wii console (sad, I know, but I don't think I'll play it now that I have MK7. Anyone want an extra Wii wheel, feel free to ask in the comments), I got it for free!

Endless Ocean 2, Cursed Mountain, and Rayman Origins are the only games I've played so far, and Rayman Origins is really the only one I've spent a significant amount of time with. I won't go into too much detail, but as I mentioned in a previous post, it's definitely one of my favorite games that came out in 2011!! As for Endless Ocean 2 and Cursed Mountain, I've only played about 1 hour of each, so I can't really give my impressions of those yet. With Endless Ocean 2 I have to say I was a bit disappointed by the above water sequences, and some of the goofy tasks it has you do, like fend off sharks with a signature Wiimote waggle. The scuba diving (which is the meat of the game, of course) is great fun, though. Cursed Mountain has a really great atmosphere so far, and I'm really digging the icy mountain setting. I'm a chicken when it comes to horror games, though, so I don't want to play it by myself, or in the dark! Way to ruin the mood, I know...

How come no one told me there was a Princess Apricot in Little King's Story?
Clearly she is going to be my new favorite character

So, I know it's a bit late, but did any of you get any games over the holidays, or make any game purchases that you've been enjoying lately? January's a good month to catch up on one's backlog, I think. So, what have you been spending your time with?

4 games I'm looking forward to in 2012

This post is coming a tad bit late, but who said I had to follow the herd, eh? As the title suggests, I've wrangled up a few games that I'm particularly looking forward to in this hopefully epic year of the dragon. It should come to no surprise to any of you that all of these are Japanese games. I am very predictable.

Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance


Or Kingdom Hearts 3D, as it is also known... Get it?? Ahaha... Anyways, pretty much anyone save die-hard fans will tell you that Kingdom Hearts has been on a downward spiral littered with obsolete and downright unnecessary plot threads with still no true Kinghdom Hearts 3 (that 3D may be as close as we're ever going to get). But I've been playing some Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep over the holidays and I have to say, its rekindled my Kingdom Hearts spark. And besides... The World Ends with You character appearances? A Hunchback of Notre Dame world? I was in before Disney could utter "Frollo."

Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom


Why look, it's another predictable title on Anne's list. I think all that needs to be said here is "first major English otome game." If you want to read more about otome games, I've written plenty about it. Here's a sample of what I'm looking forward to:

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy


Dream Drop Distance, Theatrhythm... Japan will never get over its absurd use of English in game titles. If you're wondering, the official Japanese site states that "theatrhythm" is a combination of "theater" and "rhythm." Well, it helped me remember exactly how to spell the title, at least.

As a fan of both rhythm games and Final Fantasy, this one is yet again another no-brainer for me. I am decidedly not a big fan of the cutesy art style used in the game's character art, but I'd be willing to overlook that if the game plays as well as I'm hoping. And with three different modes to play all of my favorite Final Fantasy songs in, it should provide many hours of fun.

Pokémon x Nobunaga's Ambition

Admittedly, I'm a bit of a shameless Pokémon fan. Okay, there's not much shame in that, as most of my video game loves are based on silly reasoning, but here's one to take the cake: After I saw these two character designs from Pokémon x Nobunaga's Ambition, I was sold. Also, Pokémon combined with feudal Japan? A fresh take on the old Pokémon formula? Sign me up!

 

Of course, there are plenty of other great looking titles that I am very much looking forward to this year, including, but not limited to: Atelier Meruru: Apprentice of Arland, Final Fantasy Type-0, Rhythm Heaven Fever, and Rhythm Thief and the Emperor's Treasure. 2012 is looking to be a great year indeed!

Join the VGW crew for some Mario Kart 7!

source (available as a poster!)

Just a quick heads up to anyone who's interested in playing Mario Kart 7 with me and the rest of the crew over at Video Game Writers – we'll be having a community games night on Tuesday (that should be today for most of you reading this!) the 10th at 5-8 pm PST (8-11 pm EST)! That's Wednesday the 11th at... 11 am for those of you like me in Queensland, Australia. Man, time zones are confusing!

Be sure to register the VGW Mario Kart 7 community code: 07-8039-5578-5488

I will be hopping on and off for the whole three hours, so you'll have plenty of chances to beat race me, if that's something you've always wanted to do. Of course there will be prizes going out to those non-VGW members who manage to top the leaderboards, so there's some extra incentive! (Do you need more of an incentive than the opportunity to race me?)

VGW will also be utilizing some amazing technology for a live podcast that you can sign into via Twitter or Facebook so that you can interact with all of us between the action!

And if you just can't get enough of me, you can register my 3DS friend code so we can play together in the future! It's 5198-2487-0725. Just remember to let me know who you are when you add me, or I won't add you back!

I hope to see you all there!

Some thoughts on electing a game of the year

Source

First of all, happy new year everyone! I hope the year of the dragon has been treating you all well so far. If you're wondering, my husband and I spent New Year's Eve watching Mad Men and drinking peach vodka.

Like many game writers, I contemplated drafting up a list of my favorite games of 2011, and (gasp) even thought a moment of selecting my own personal Game of the Year. But those thoughts were quickly pushed aside as I remembered how much I dislike the whole idea of choosing a one game to represent the year. Not that I didn't have a grand time hearing the debates and adding in my two cents over at VGW (head over there to see the team's GotY pick) and on other game media outlets, but I realize the whole endeavor to whittle a year's worth of great games down to a choice few is not really my thing. Honestly, even if the Dali Lama were to elect a GotY, I probably still could care less. But I can most certainly name a couple of games that I particularly enjoyed from 2011 that actually came out in 2011 (rather than the large number of games from previous years I played).

You won't find Uncharted 3, Portal 2, Deus Ex Human Revolution or any such AAA titles here, but if you're interested in hearing what I had the most fun with in 2011, feel free to read on.

Corpse Party
For those of you who have been following me on Twitter or reading this blog, you are probably already well aware of my love for Corpse Party. When XSEED announced that they were localizing this title, I honestly had never even heard of it. I'm also not a big horror fan, but I am just in love with the atmosphere in Corpse Party. Head over to this post to read more about my experiences with the game. You can also find my official review here.

One of my characters getting hit with something. A common occurrence. 

ClaDun X2
I stumbled onto ClaDun X2 a bit randomly – NIS America sent Video Game Writers a review code for the game, and my editor passed it on to me, saying that I was the lady for the job (that and no one else seems to be using their PSP these days). I had read Bryan over at The Gay Gamer talking about the first game and this sequel and was ready to have some fun with it, but I didn't really expect it to be my thing. To my pleasant surprise, I loved it! I didn't get at all tired of going back to the randomly generated dungeons to nab the best loot... In fact, that was my favorite part of the game! Though I clocked in at about 20 hours for my review, I definitely think I will come back to this one in the future.

Rayman Origins
A choice few had mentioned how great Rayman Origins was when it launched back in November, but I kind of pushed any thoughts of playing it aside what with all the other games I had on my plate at the time. A good friend acquired a copy for me, however, and my husband and I spent the whole holiday break playing. I believe I can say that hands down Rayman Origins was the most fun I've had playing a single game all year. The platforming is classic and beautifully presented, and the music is absolutely amazing. If you like platformers, I can't recommend this game enough. I'm actually working on a review of this one for VGW, as we never got anyone to cover it back when it came out. There is one tiny little thing that bothers me about the game, but I'm going to leave you in suspense for a future post I'm planning on the very subject.

I dearly wish I had the source for this still, but I couldn't help but include it.
Let me know if you know where it's from! 

Pokémon Black/White
I'd be lying if I said I didn't pour hours upon hours of my life into Pokémon White. Though initially apprehensive of some of the changes in this generation, I found myself quite enjoying the latest installment in the ever-growing Pokémon series. I even went to my first tournament this year, come to think of it (but didn't participate)! I don't think my love for Pokémon will ever die, so this one deserves a mention even though I'd struggle to put it on a GotY list due to the fact that most of the content isn't all that new, apart from the Pokémon themselves. But there's nothing wrong with that!

Honestly, I could go on... What about Atelier Totori or Okamiden? Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection? (hey, HD rereleases still count!) Needless to say, 2011 had some great games, many of which I did not get a chance to play. And many others that were not from 2011 that I finally did get a chance to spend some time with! But that's for another post.

What were your personal favorite games from 2011? Share them in the comments!

Happy Holidays from Chic Pixel!

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all! Thank you so much for reading my ramblings and giving me a reason to post this horribly cute card that I've been hanging onto for years.

I probably won't be posting anything for a day or two, but I would love to hear how you all are going to spend your time off! What games will you be playing, and what are you hoping might be waiting for you  under the Christmas tree tomorrow morning?

I know for a fact that I've got Mario Kart 7 waiting for me, and I'm itching to play! As soon as I get it going I'm going to make an official Chic Pixel community, so I hope some of you can play with me!

I've got a huuuuge backlog I would love to get started in on, but I'm at the point where I have so many games I'd like to play that I literally feel stuck and don't know where to start! Since I just got the Wii, I'd like to dig in to Skyward Sword... But honestly, some comments I've been hearing about the 5 hour tutorial and frustrating motion controls have given me slight cold feet. Surprisingly, I've been playing a lot of Just Dance 2, which came free with my Wii. Er... Yeah.

In which I rant about Final Fantasy XIII-2

Okay, I'm generally not much of an angry gamer, but I may come across as one in this recent article I did at GamerANX about my lack of enthusiasm for Final Fantasy XIII-2. I really don't harbor feelings of intense hatred for the ultra-linear predecessor to the second direct sequel in FF history, I promise! But I do get a little snarky (and poke fun at the new weird bulbous-headed moogles). Give it a read, if you're interested!

I did do a bit of research for the article, since I haven't really been keeping up on the news regarding the title. Once I heard Ezio was going to be a DLC costume for the new male lead Noel, I pretty much threw in the towel. I admit that I probably will purchase the game in the future, because in all honesty, the gameplay looks pretty intriguing, but I'm definitely not in a rush. Even a 40/40 from Famitsu will not sway me (which it did get, by the way, and I'm not sure who really puts much faith in those scores anyway, outside of rabid fanboys).

Well, through my research I did stumble on a couple of character design-related annoyances that I would've loved to put in the original article, but they just didn't fit. When you think of absurd costumes, you think of Final Fantasy, right? I thought X was about as weird as it could get, but check this out:

This is Caius Ballad, the main antagonist of XIII-2 and the character you see fighting with Lightening in the first teaser trailer, as well as the game's logo. There are so many things about this character design that just rub me the wrong way! Honestly, I don't even know what to say without digging myself an early grave. I am notoriously a fan of Seymour, after all...

What I liked about Seymour and Final Fantasy X (overall), was that the majority of it didn't seem to take itself too seriously. I mean, who takes Seymour seriously? Or Kuja, for that matter (another favorite FF character of mine). The problem with XIII, and potentially XIII-2, is that it's taking itself far too seriously, and yet Tetsuya Nomura is churning out silly character designs like these. [edit: It's come to my attention that I'm not really articulating my point very well. I think my major beef with Caius stems from the fact that his design seems like one big a big mash of character stereotypes. Or maybe I just think he's ugly?]

And have you heard of Chocolina? When the name first arose, all that was known about her was that she appeared around the world dressed in chocobo-themed clothing selling goods. Me, being the naive gamer I am... I pictured a dorky little girl dressed in full-body chocobo costume. Instead, we get this:

And of course this single image has already spurred dozens of news articles talking about the "hot new shopkeeper" who'll make "sexy cosplay." Yay? I should be excited, right?

Naw, I'm just all-around disappointed and throughly unamused by pretty much everything surrounding Final Fantasy XIII-2 at this point. Maybe I'm just grumpy, maybe I'm stuck harboring some metaphorical ideal of what a Final Fantasy game should be, but either way, this game really couldn't interest me less at this point. I play RPGs for story and characters above all else, and Final Fantasy just isn't pushing the right buttons anymore. I'm sure the gameplay will be pretty neat, though.

What are your thoughts on Final Fantasy XIII and XIII-2? Are you excited for the sequel?

Chic Pixel Holiday Giveaway!

For a bit of a festive treat, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank both the regular frequenters of Chic Pixel and any newcomers for taking the time to read what I have to say by offering a little giveaway contest. I really appreciate any and all comments and just knowing a handful of you read all the way through my posts makes it worthwhile. 

So what am I giving away, you ask?

Since Chic Pixel really is all about my favorite hobbies (namely BL manga and all sorts of popular and lesser-known video games), I thought I'd do things a little differently by offering not one, but two prizes: 

First up is a copy of volume 1 of Crimson Spell, a BL manga by Ayano Yamane! (contains graphic sex, entrants must be over 18)

The second prize pack is for all the Japanese game enthusiasts out there: choose this option and you'll get a rare Arc Rise Fantasia pin set and an El Shaddai goodie pack, which includes a pin, illustration card, and a sticker! These were scored by my amazingly cool mom at E3 2010 and 2011, and I'm pretty sure you won't be able to find them for sale anywhere else.

Entry terms: 

• Leave a comment on this entry stating which prize pack you'd most like to win (entrants are only eligible to win one or the other). Remember to leave a way for me to contact you!
• For an additional entry, promote this contest and/or my blog via Twitter, Facebook, or however you'd like! Just leave a comment every time you tweet/post about it so I can keep track of your entries! (maximum of 5 additional entries)
• Contest is open to anyone in the world and closes promptly on Friday, December 9th at 9 pm EST 

Good luck! 

Unboxing Ni no Kuni: Shikkoku no Madoushi

So, as many of you have probably heard (and are beyond excited for, I'm sure), Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch will be seeing an English release sometime early next year. Well, unfortunately, the Nintendo DS version of Ni no Kuni will not probably be as lucky – it's been out for just about a year now in Japan and no word as surfaced as to a potential localization.

I've been lamenting on how difficult it is to obtain a copy of said game (it's available online, but generally runs around $80+), and have been coveting it for a long time due to the famous book it comes with. From what I'd read, the book is an integral part of the game, and that's probably a big part of the reason why Level 5 (or whoever is in charge of localizations) decided not to bring the game over to the US.

Well, thanks to my great Twitter friend Zolbrod who lives in Japan, I've now got myself a complete copy of Ni no Kuni DS! It was used, but it only set me back about $25. Well, shipping was killer due to the size of the book, but it still ended up being about half what I would've paid online! Thanks again, Zolbrod!

I haven't gotten a chance to play the game yet, but rest assured, I will be making a full report soon! For now, here are some sample pictures of the set and a few excerpts from the gorgeous book.

The box that holds the book and game.

When they say book, they mean book!

There are so many gorgeous illustrations!

The book contains full lists of spells, weapons, and a bestiary –  there are so many cute enemies. It looks like they each have 4 forms, one for each element. 

Why's there a tire in the bottom right?

The book also contains a number of maps, as well as detailed history and other lore. 

And, of course, game itself.

I can't wait to sink my teeth into this game! Expect a full report in the next few weeks.

Ruminating on Corpse Party

Japanese cover for the game. Full title: Corpse Party: Blood Covered... Repeated Fear

If you've seen my tweets over the past week or so, you know I've been gushing over Corpse Party pretty much nonstop. But what is Corpse Party, and why should you care about it? As I'm in the midst of writing my review, which probably won't go up for a day or two due to some server transitions happening over at Video Game Writers, I thought I'd take the opportunity to talk a bit about the game here.

Believe it or not, Corpse Party is one of the few games in recent months that got me really excited in anticipation of its release. Even stranger is the fact that I really am not a horror connoisseur by any means, and generally don't go out of my way to consume any sort of horror-related media. So what is it about Corpse Party that grabbed my attention so throughly?

First of all, Corpse Party is a game I would have never thought would see the light of day in English. In fact, I hadn't even heard of it before XSEED announced that they would be localizing it. The game they localized actually is a port/remake of the original indie PC game, made with the help of RPG Maker. The original creators got quite a bit of publicity for such an indie title, eventually spurring the remake, multiple manga series, and even a sequel. But what makes people so enamored with Corpse Party?

Just because they're pixilated doesn't make the blood splatters any less creepy. 

The game starts off innocuously enough: A group of high school students are saying farewell to one of their classmates, who is transferring to another school the next day. One of them suggests they perform a special charm so that they will always stay friends, to which they all agree. They preform the ritual, but immediately afterwards an earthquake suddenly erupts, transporting them to Heavenly Host Elementary School, a school rife with murder and disappearances that was torn down many years before.

Keeping the story relatively vague, as the story is really the heart and soul of the game, I found that the first hour or so was terribly generic and cliche. After the initial introduction, there is even a break in the game to allow you to read each of the nine charaters' profiles! At first glance, many might be turned off by the seemingly stereotypical characters and premise, but I was pleasantly surprised by how the game developed.

After the initial sequences, your characters are split up into groups, and the overall goal is to guide them to their peers and out of the horrible predicament they've found themselves in. There is a lot of character development, and as you play as the different parties, you slowly begin to understand their relationships and histories, which makes it all the more distressing when you find out that anyone can die. That's right – in Corpse Party, no one is safe from a gruesome and horrible death, either at the mercy of a vengeful ghost or the hands of their own peers. Though some of the characters remained a tad too stereotypical/fanservice-y for my tastes (you've got your token panty shots and lesbian who's in love with her best friend), overall, the story developments and character interactions were extremely enthralling, and were what ultimately made me love the game as much as I did.

I'm not one for fanservice, and unfortunately panty shots like these totally took me out of the moment. 

Many people are confused about what kind of game Corpse Party is. The game features decidedly retro graphics, a la RPG Maker, with anime-style character illustrations and the occasional CG cutscene. Described by XSEED as an adventure game, I'd probably most liken it to Sweet Home meets 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors. There are no battles, however, and the bulk of the game is spent exploring the haunted school, looking for clues to advance the story. You'll talk to the occasional ghost, but for the most part the only characters you'll find are the ones in your party at the time. Decision-making is extremely important, and what you choose will often dictate whether or not you'll bear witness to one of the game's decidedly gristly "wrong ends."

For each of the game's five chapters, there is one "true end," which will advance you to the next chapter, and any number of wrong ends. The wrong ends are some of the most disturbing things I have ever seen, but nothing that kept me awake late at night. Even so, I was terribly enthralled by them – the sound direction is amazing in both the music and the sound effects, and every gruesome squish and squelch there, accompanied by the horrified screams of teenage girls (I could've done without some of the latter, though). Something about the game made me actually want to go out of my way to view the wrong ends I missed, though I'm not sure what that says about me. Rather than just being mindless gore, by getting players to connect with the characters, every bloody scene is all the more jarring. Perhaps one of the most horrifying moments for me in the game was finding out the identity of the person splattered all over the hallway you've been passing by the last 3 hours, and one of the other character's own reaction to that realization.

I'll briefly touch on what I didn't like about the game. In all honestly, Corpse Party is not a great game, but rather a great experience. There are a number of times where the game gives you absolutely no guidance and it's up to you to wander the halls of the school, investigating everything until you hit the jackpot and are able to advance the game. Some of the puzzles are reduced down to simply mashing x on anything and everything, which isn't all that fun when you've got a ghost on your tail and a drawn-out wrong end awaiting you if you run into them by mistake. The game also does not have a text skip feature for when you have to reply segments over and over again because you keep dying, which means you're going to be skipping through a lot of death scenes you've seen before. Since the game shares a lot of similarities with visual novels, it really would've benefitted from some kind of fast-forward button like there is in 999.

All in all, I'd say that if you're at all interested in the horror genre and experiencing truly unique game experiences, then you owe it to yourself to give Corpse Party a shot (this is really starting to sound like a review!). Even if you generally don't like scary stories, I'd still suggest the game, though it isn't for the faint of heart. It's only available on the Playstation Network for the PSP due to the fact that its such a niche title, but if you can spare the $20 and the download, I highly recommend it. If you're interested in hearing more about the game, I'll be posting my full review on Video Game Writers in the very near future. I really hope more people are exposed to this game so that XSEED will be able to release its sequel in the future!

Wii on the Horizon

First of all, a very happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the US! We don't have Thanksgiving here in Australia, of course, but that doesn't mean I can't be wistful for the turkey and cranberry sauce... The major holiday in November over here is Melbourne Cup Day, but with all the dressing up in expensive hats and betting on horses, I'd say it emphasizes few different priorities... 

But Thursday wasn't a normal day for me! Far from it –– this Thursday marked the release of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword in Australia. Well, technically the street date was broken (yet again), so you could pick up the game if you preordered it as early as Tuesday, but I got mine yesterday (don't get me started on street date breaks in AU).

Pretty sleek, no? 

As most of you should know by now, there's one big hurdle I'll need to overcome before I can play my copy of Skyward Sword. Namely, I don't have a Wii! I know, I know, a little late to the party...

It's not exactly a question of "if" I'll get one, of course, but more like "when" –– I know there will be some holiday sales soon enough and I can't decide whether I want to hold out until they roll around in December or not! So many decisions! In the meantime, I asked some of you on Twitter what games you'd most recommend for the console, but I decided I'd like to open the floor up to everyone. First, let's see what games I'm most looking forward to playing...

Murasama: Demon Blade
Basically, all you have to do is utter the word "Vanillaware" and I'll be there. The company's amazing art direction (though the lead artist's penchant for bubble breasts and thunder thighs leaves something to be desired...) never ceases to take my breath away, even if I'm not always a huge fan of the gameplay. Murasama's focus Japanese mythology makes it a must-have in my book.

Resident Evil 4
I'm putting this sucker on the list because I know my husband would quite enjoy it. I saw a significant portion of the game played back when it came out for the PS2, but I'm really just awful at tense games where I'm required to shoot things. I've heard the Wii controls really shine in this game, so I would love to see my husband give it a go. Honorable mentions in the category of "games my husband and I can enjoy together" would be Donkey Kong Country Returns (can you believe he's never played the original?) and maybe House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return.

Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon: The Labyrinth of Forgotten Time

There are few video game animal mascots I love more than chocobos. Actually, probably the only thing I love more than chocobos are moogles (sense a pattern?). I've never gotten into the roguelike genre before, and figure chocobos and cute things might soften the potentially harsh blow the traditional roguelike might have (I'm really a wimp when it comes to games). Also, Cid's design in this Final Fantasy spin-off is pretty rad (right). 

Little King's Story

I'll be honest, I don't really know a whole lot about this game. But what I do know, I like, and this is definitely one of the top games on my "must pick up immediately" list. From what I've seen/heard, it seems like a Harvest Moon-type life simulator with some unique gameplay elements, and if that's the case, then I'm all for it! 

Rhythm Heaven Wii

I shouldn't need to say much about this one. I loved Rhythm Heaven on the DS, and it goes without saying that I'll pick up this next installment. Problem is, I'll have to get a big chunk of play time in before my husband gets his hands on it! If he gets half as obsessed with this one as he did the last, he won't stop until he's got gold medals on every song! We still find ourselves humming some of those tunes... 

I can't wait for this game

Well, of course there are many many more Wii titles I plan on picking up eventually, including classics such as Kirby's Epic Yarn and Super Mario Galaxy 2 (I've seen a significant portion of the first already, would rather experience Yoshi). Any titles you think I should add to my list? Let's hear your top Wii games! 

Talking games, importing, blogging, and more with The Gay Gamer

Bryan Ochalla is by far one of my favorite people on the internet. He's the voice behind the colorful gaming blog, The Gay Gamer (not to be mistaken with GayGamer.net), and is known for his quirky tastes in games and a penchant for collecting boxed retro titles in immaculate condition (sometimes just for their cover art). He covers all manner of games from the PC Engine right up to current-gen titles in his Great Gaymathon reviews, compares regional differences in game box art, and takes some incredibly sexy photos of his game collection. His newest series, Manual Stimulation, focuses on highlighting some of the best game manuals in his collection, reminding gamers how much care and attention used to be put into those few often-overlooked pieces of paper.

All of this is done with a down-to-earth yet cheeky pizzaz that makes The Gay Gamer a joy to read day after day. Bryan also fosters a great community of like-minded gamers who have some great discussions in the comments section of almost every single one of his posts (and he posts pretty much daily, mind you!). Rest assured, if you comment on one of his posts, he will always read and respond to you, making him one of the most easily-accessible and charismatic people I've ever had the pleasure of "meeting" online. 


Bryan was kind enough to agree to answer a few questions via email, so I took the opportunity talk with him about his gaming history, interest in Japanese import titles, and a bit about what it's like to maintain a blog. He gave some great responses, so please take the time to read through the whole interview, even though it's a bit long! 

Apricotsushi: Would you mind starting with sharing your first influential game?

The Gay Gamer: Wow, that's a pretty difficult question to answer, especially since I'm not sure I can remember that far into my past. That said, I can recall at least two games that were pretty important in terms of turning me into a fan of video games.  

The first is the arcade version of Bubble Bobble.  It's one of the first games of any sort (arcade, console, etc.) I remember playing, and to this day it remains one of my favorites.  Everything about it amazes me -- its wonderfully realized graphics (especially all of the food and other items you collect -- I've been a sucker for that kind of thing ever since), its hummable soundtrack, its ability to pull you back for "just one more game."  I don't think I'll ever tire of playing it, to tell you the truth, which is pretty amazing given its age and simplicity.

The second game, strangely enough, is Kid Icarus, which is the first console game I remember obsessing about as a kid. Oh, I liked Super Mario Bros. well enough, and Metroid and The Legend of Zelda, too, but for some reason Kid Icarus really stood out for me.  I think it was mainly due of the mythological theme, as I've always been a sucker for Greek gods and goddesses and the stories that surround them.  I also remember being entranced by its graphics -- especially the enemy sprites -- and Hip Tanaka's amazing soundtrack, though.  Anyway, I know the game isn't all that highly regarded these days, thanks to its overt difficulty (some would say cheapness), but I loved it as a kid and still play through it now and then in order to relive some of those "good old days."

Japanese import Hello Kitty World 

Apricotsushi: What are your favorite game genres?

The Gay Gamer: If I were forced to whittle them down to just two, I would say two-dimensional platformers (a la Super Mario Bros.) and turn-based JRPGs (like Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy and EarthBound/Mother, especially).  I also like puzzlers a lot, though, and rhythm games, too.  Really, I like most genres, with the exception of first-person shooters. I actually enjoy watching other people play FPSes, but I can't for the life of me play them myself (due to the perspective, I think). 

Apricotsushi: As a fan of Japanese games myself, I've noticed you do a lot of importing of niche Japanese games. What do you find so appealing about them? 

The Gay Gamer: When I was a kid, I thought Japanese Famicom games and PC Engine games -- and their boxes and cartridges -- seemed so much more exotic and beautiful than the ugly NES and TurboGrafx-16 games my parents bought me.  I've also always liked quirky games and, back in the day, especially, companies either didn't bring the quirkiest titles (like Parodius, for instance) to our shores or they altered them to make them more American (which didn't appeal to me at all).  Anyway, that's what finally prompted me to start importing -- I wanted to play Parodius and TwinBee on my TG-16, but I knew neither NEC nor Konami would bring them to the US.  So, I imported them from Japan Video Games or some company like that.  From then on, I was hooked.

Apricotsushi: Do you have any favorites in particular?

I still consider my copies of Final Fantasy V and VI for the Super Famicom to be prized possessions, even though the former is completely mangled and worth about $2 (if that).  That's probably due to the fact that they were among my first import purchases and because they're two of my all-time favorite games.  I also love my original white PC Engine and the many games I've amassed for the system -- Parasol Stars, Photograph Boy and Mizubaku Daibouken, in particular.  Oh, and my Famicom "Pulse Line" carts.  If I could, I would mount all of them in some sort of museum-quality case -- they are that beautiful and interesting to me.

Bryan's photos of his Pulse Line carts are just gorgeous!

Apricotsushi: You've been writing at your blog, The Gay Gamer, for a couple of years now, right? Have you done any other game-related writing for other sites/publications?

The Gay Gamer: Yep, I started the blog in early 2007, so it's been around for more than four years now.  I did take about a year (or more) off, though, so I guess that's not entirely accurate.  

Anyway, I wrote a few features for Gamasutra.com when I first started freelancing and I also wrote a number of gaming-related articles for The Advocate (a North American LGBT magazine) and GayWired.com a few years ago, but I haven't written anything gaming-related for money (professionally) in a long time, mainly because it often doesn't seem worth my while monetarily speaking.  

Also, I like that I have full control over what I write for my blog.  I don't have to worry about what would appeal to the masses or bring in the most hits, I can just write about whatever interests me at the moment.

Apricotsushi: I know you've mentioned you write for your day job, as well. Even so, you post daily for your personal blog. After writing for work all day, what motivates you to post in your free time for The Gay Gamer?

The Gay Gamer: Well, to be honest (and maybe a bit blunt), I like writing posts for my blog more than I like writing anything else -- and that includes the articles I write for the magazines that help me and my husband pay our bills.  So, I basically use my blog writing as a "getaway" of sorts from my day job. 

I have to admit that sometimes I feel a bit burned out in regards to the blog, but it never lasts long.  Plus, something inevitably pops up -- a game announcement, the release of a new system -- to get me excited again.  

Also, I really like interacting with the folks who visit my blog and comment on my posts.  In fact, oftentimes the "high" that I get from that kind of interaction is even more enjoyable than the one I get from writing posts in the first place.  

One of the many great manuals featured in Bryan's Manual Stimulation series

In closing, I asked Bryan if he had any tips he has for fellow aspiring game bloggers. Here's what he had to say: 


Write about the games and systems that interest and inspire you if you want to make the most of the time you spend writing.  Also, if you have a blog and you allow comments (and you get comments), respond to them!  It just might help you create a bit of a community -- if that's what you're looking for, of course. 

You can find Bryan at his blog The Gay Gamer and on Twitter @TheGayGamer. For his drool-worthy game collection photos, check out his Flickr. 

Madam Luna's Kirby Horoscope

Ever wondered what your favorite Kirby Super Star power says about you? Well then step right up and be ready to uncover the secrets of your personality with this handy-dandy Kirby horoscope, whipped up by the amazing and talented Madam Luna!

I'm sure the horoscope is much more accurate if you have an affinity to a particular power from playing a significant amount of the game, but if you're like me and aren't extremely familiar with Kirby Super Star, I'm sure you'll still get a kick out of choosing the power that appeals most to you!

Head on over to Madam Luna's blog to view the complete horoscope here. For the curious, I picked wing because of Kirby's politically incorrect yet adorable Native American headdress.

Wing: Traditionalism - ambition - kindness. Despite being a flying creature, you prefer to keep yourself firmly on the ground, where you know what to expect. But when the situation calls for it, you can take wing with the best of them! You know when to use your talents and when to hold back and let other people take center stage. You like Beam types and Sword types.


What is your favorite Kirby Super Star power? Did you find the horoscope surprisingly accurate, or totally off the mark? For the record, I think "wing" describes me pretty well! I think I'm going to have to play some Kirby Super Star now...