November, 2015 | Jennifer Awesome v5.0

Archive for November 2015

Moco Moco Friends to Benefit Make A Wish

November 23, 2015 Jen Ný Gaming One comment

In my last blog post, I reviewed a new RPG for Nintendo 3DS called Moco Moco Friends. If you on the fence about Moco Moco Friends and need another reason to play this adorable game, or if you are still deciding between this and Yo Kai Watch, Aksys has announced that they will donate a portion of the proceeds from Moco Moco Friends to The Make A Wish Foundation.

From Aksys Games’ website:

Help Moco and Aksys Games make a donation to the Make a Wish Foundation this Holiday season! For every Moco Moco Friends game sold, Aksys will donate a portion of the proceeds to help a child realize their dream! Help us make dreams come true! http://wish.org/

As stated on the Make a Wish Foundation Website:

‘’A wish come true helps children feel stronger, more energetic, more willing and able to battle their life-threatening medical conditions. For many, the wish marks a turning point in the fight against their illnesses. Doctors, nurses and other health professionals say, the wish experience works in concert with medicine to make their patients feel better emotionally and even physically. That is why wishes matter. That is why we grant wishes.’’

‘’Make-A-Wish® grants a wish, on average, every 38 minutes to a child with a life-threatening medical condition. Wishes come in all shapes and sizes. Some are heartfelt or jaw-dropping – others funny or tear-jerkers. Enjoy your journey.’’ http://wish.org/wishes

Moco Moco Friends is available now from Amazon.

Moco Moco Friends Review

November 21, 2015 Jen Ný Gaming No comments

Moco Moco Friends is a new RPG for the Nintendo 3DS developed by Racjin and published by Aksys Games. This game is set in the world of Dreamtopia, a magical place inhabited by adorable creatures called Plushkins, which resemble stuffed animals. You play as a witch named Moco who has just graduated from Plushkin Magic School. Your goal is to become the world’s greatest Plushkin Master.

Moco Moco Friends is similar to Pokemon, in that you collect and battle monsters. You can clearly see how the designs for some of the Plushkins were inspired by Pokemon (compare Scrunchie with Pikachu, for an obvious example). This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however.

Most of the game revolves around exploring dungeons and battling enemy Plushkins. You can take a team of up to three Plushkins with you, with one additional substitute Plushkin in reserve. The rest of your Plushkins are stored in the Plushkin House in town. To acquire more Plushkin friends, you can sometimes make contracts with them after defeating them in battle. You can also summon new Plushkins by giving yarn to your mentor, Michiru’s Plushkin Konpei. There are a total of 120 Plushkins to befriend.

During battle, you can attack, use an item, or rearrange your Plushkins’ formation (which allows you to switch an active Plushkin for your substitute Plushkin or reorder your active Plushkins). You may use one item per turn and each Plushkin can use one of their moves. The moves are a lot like the move in similar games, such as Pokemon. Each Plushkin can learn up to four moves, and you can switch older moves out as they level up and learn new moves (sound familiar?). There is also an “auto” option that allows you to have the game automatically choose moves for you, but I don’t recommend using it, as it would take the fun out of the battle. As the Plushkins take damage, bits of stuffing start to come out of their bodies.

At the end of the battle, sometimes one of the Plushkins you have defeated will want to make a contract with you and become your friend. If you are battling a Plushkin that you really want to be friends with, you can give it an item during battle that will increase the likelihood of it wanting to become your friend.

The dungeons are pretty simple (so far at least. I’m still early in the game). You battle your way through a couple floors until you get to the floor containing the boss battle. All of the dungeons I’ve been in so far have been pretty small, though I’m guessing they will get bigger and more complicated as the game progresses. You can revisit dungeons that you have completed as many times as you want to gather more items or to befriend Plushkins that you might have missed.

In town you will find businesses that let you do things such as training your Plushkins, sewing new items, and gardening to create materials. You will also get new quests to progress the story from Michiru and from townspeople called Gurumins.

The graphics are cute, but simple. You will notice lots of fabric- and knit-themed textures throughout the game. The graphical style reminds me a bit of Kirby’s Epic Yarn and Yoshi’s Woolly World.

Aside from Pokemon, comparisons have also been made between Moco Moco Friends and Yo Kai Watch. I haven’t played Yo Kai Watch, so I can’t comment on any similarities.

I haven’t seen much advertising or many reviews for Moco Moco Friends. The only reason I even knew about this game was because Amazon showed it to me as an item I may be interested in. (A game about a witch who trains adorable creatures that look like plushies? Sign me up!)

So far, I am really enjoying Moco Moco Friends. While it isn’t Pokemon, it is still a fun monster collecting RPG. Though the gameplay is simple, there is still plenty to do to keep you entertained. Overall, this game is worth playing if you are a fan of Japanese RPGs and enjoy super cute things. If you are looking for a cute RPG, give Moco Moco Friends a try.

Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival Review

November 20, 2015 Jen Ný Figures and Toys, Gaming No comments

Though a lot of Animal Crossing fans were disappointed that the two newest installments of the Animal Crossing series are spin-offs, I am enjoying Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer and Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival.

Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival is a lot like Mario Party. It is a virtual board game based on the Animal Crossing series. The biggest difference is that there aren’t mini-games throughout the main board game (though there are mini-games available to unlock in the main hub). Each board features a different month, with each turn representing a day. Throughout the month, various fun events will happen, just as they do in the main Animal Crossing games.

The developers admitted that this game was made just so they would have an excuse to make Animal Crossing Amiibo. I am okay with that!

This game centers around the use of Amiibo. Each player uses an Amiibo to represent their character. The game comes with an Isabelle and Digby Amiibo to get you started, as well as three Amiibo cards. Tom Nook, Mable, and a three pack containing KK Slider, Reese, and Cyrus are also available now (Lottie is scheduled to be released this Sunday 11/22, and more characters are coming within the next few months. The Villager Amiibo doesn’t work in this game.). If you play by yourself, you will have three CPU controlled Villagers to play against (or you can select 2-4 players and play using multiple Amiibo by yourself as though you actually have friends to play with. Not that I have tried that… #foreveralone).

The only controller required for the main board game is the Wii U GamePad. Each player takes turns using it. To roll the die during your turn, you have to place your Amiibo on the GamePad. This does get a little annoying after awhile.

After rolling the die, you land on a space where either something good or bad happens. You can earn or lose Bells and/or Happy Points. The player who ends up with the most Happy Points at the end is the winner. The Bells aren’t completely useless, however. At the end of the game, Bells are converted to Happy Points (1000 Bells = 1 Happy Point). On Sundays throughout the game, Joan arrives to sell turnips. You can sell these turnips during weekdays at the end of each turn to try to make a profit on your investment, just like in the main Animal Crossing games.

As you play more games with a specific character, you can unlock new outfits for them to wear. You will also earn tickets to unlock new mini-games and new features for the game board. You can also use the Animal Crossing Amiibo cards to play these mini-games and let the featured animal move into your town and appear on the game board.

This game is a bit slow-paced, just like the regular Animal Crossing games. The overall mood of the game is incredibly happy and upbeat. It is difficult to be sad while playing this game, even when you land on a “sad” space.

3D Printed Pokemon Planters

November 19, 2015 Jen Ný Figures and Toys No comments

I recently decided that I needed some house plants, so I got a few 3D printed Pokemon planters from Etsy. I got the obvious Bulbasaur and Oddish, plus Chikorita, which has always been one of my favorite Pokemon.

Since I’m not much of a green thumb, I decided to go with succulents, cacti, and an air plant. These types of plants are supposed to be easy to take care of and difficult to kill. The planters are a bit small, so these plants may need to be transplanted to bigger containers eventually, however.

The Bulbasaur planter is really awesome. I bought this little guy from Etsy seller 3DUniPrint. It’s a high quality print and has a drainage hole on the bottom so I won’t drown my plant if I over-water it. I originally kept the plant with its original plastic pot sitting inside Bulbasaur, but then decided to just re-pot it directly inside of Bulbasaur using better cacti potting mix.

I got my Oddish and Chikorita planters from Etsy seller MultiForm3D. They aren’t as nice looking as Bulbasaur. They are both kind of rough around the edges. Chikorita has a weird bump around the top, and Oddish has a weird discoloration on his face. The discoloration is present on both Oddishes, so I believe it is an artifact from the printing process.

My first Oddish had his foot broken off in transit, but the seller was nice enough to send a replacement. Oddish didn’t have drainage holes on the bottom, so I used the broken one to see if I could drill holes in it without cracking the plastic. Since the drilling was successful, I added drainage holes to the second one and super glued the foot back onto the broken Oddish. The foot came off again after the first super-gluing attempt, but the second attempt seems to be holding.

The opening on the Chikorita planter is too small for any regular potted plants I’ve seen, so I filled it with stones and got a small air plant to stick on top of its head. It looks cute, but the plant had a tendency to fall off sometimes. It would have been better if they had made this planter just a little bit bigger so that small plants that come in 2″ pots would fit.

I also got another cactus that wouldn’t fit in the Oddish planters, so I got a bigger ceramic planter and added a plastic Maractus and Cacnea figurine to keep with the Pokemon theme.

I’m thinking about getting a Venus fly trap later on and planting it in a similar way with a Carnivine figurine. I might wait and see how these plants do before getting types that need watered more often. If these plants do well for me throughout the winter, I will get some more types in the spring.

Tasty Peach Studios: Purple Vampire Bat and Chocolate Candy Corn Meowchi

November 13, 2015 Jen Ný Figures and Toys One comment

Halloween Variant Meowchis from Tasty Peach Studios

I missed the preorder opportunity for the variants of last year’s Halloween Meowchis (and didn’t get the originals last year either), but Tasty Peach Studios offered a last chance to order the remaining Purple Vampire Bat and Chocolate Candy Corn Halloween Meowchis last weekend, in addition to the remaining Witch and Demon Meowchis that were introduced this year, so I woke up early that day and scooped them up as soon as they went live.

The Purple Vampire Bat Meowchi is a variant of the black Vampire Bat that was available last year. He has felt wings, just like this year’s Demon Meowchi. He also has spooky red eyes and adorable vampire fangs. His whiskers are also red, presumably to show up better on his dark-colored fur. He reminds me of a cross between the Bitey Bat and Meowburt animal orbs in Castle Crashers.

The Chocolate Candy Corn Meowchi is a variant of last year’s Candy Corn Meowchi’s. He has a chocolate face instead of the original yellow. He has an orange stripe across his middle and a white stripe across his rear, just like a real chocolate candy corn! He has the same adorable happy facial expression as the original Meowchis. Chocolate Candy Corn Meowchi is a delicious addition to any Meowchi collection!

Here’s all of my Halloween Meowchis, as well as my entire Meowchi collection. I think I may have a slight problem, though my Meowchi collection does pale in comparison to some of the photos that other fans have shared on Tasty Peach Studio’s facebook page. I love how stackable these things are. They’re like potato chips. You can never have just one!

These limited edition Halloween Meowchis were definitely worth adding to my collection, despite Halloween being over. They are cute enough to display all year!

Don’t Buy Cacti from Home Depot

November 12, 2015 Jen Ný Cool Story Bro No comments

Angel Cactus in Oddish Planter with R2D2

I decided to get some house plants recently. I got a few cute Pokemon planters from Etsy and wanted some plants to put in them. I decided to go with cacti and succulents since they are supposed to be difficult to kill.

I bought two cacti at Home Depot earlier this week. When I got home and went to re-pot them, I found that one of them was already dead. The Copper King cactus I bought barely had any roots attached and upon closer inspection, was hollow inside. I’m not sure the employees there ever actually water the plants.

I also realized that the flowers on each of the cacti were fake and glued on. Apparently this is a common practice at big box stores like Home Depot, Lowes, and Walmart. They glue dyed straw flowers to cacti to attract buyers, since people like colorful things. They are taking advantage of people who don’t know a lot about plants. Having random things glued on can’t be very good for the plant either. It’s like if a pet store were to glue a wig onto a dog to make it look fluffier.

I ended up returning the dead cactus and removing the fake flower from the living one. I should have thought to look closer at the plants before I bought them, especially after seeing some other plants in the store that were painted odd and unnatural colors. It just never occurred to me that a well-known store like that would do something so underhanded. Lesson learned. From now on, I will be buying all of my plants from local nurseries.

Here’s the dead Copper King. After researching online, I found that it’s supposed to be green in the middle with coppery brown spines. This one is brownish all the way through. While looking closely through the spines, I noticed a few holes in the body. It was hollow! Also notice the glue under the straw flower.

Here’s the Angel Wing cactus with the fake flower, and then without. After just a little bit of research on these cacti, it is pretty obvious that it’s a fake flower. I managed to get it off with minimal damage by heating up a knife and carefully cutting at the glue. The final bits of glue on the top of the cactus came right off as I pulled on the last bit of glue holding the flower on after cutting through most of the glue. Ignore the R2-D2 measuring cups in the background. Actually, don’t ignore them. They’re awesome!

Have you ever seen an Oddish with a cactus on his head? A leafy plant would have made more sense, but cacti are awesome!

Starbucks Christmas Cups

November 11, 2015 Jen Ný Cool Story Bro No comments

In light of the Starbucks holiday cup “controversy,” I created two festive cup designs for Starbucks to use next year.

The first one features Odin riding Sleipnir. What could be more Christmasy than the original inspiration for Santa Claus himself? Long before Christians forced Germanic Pagans to convert to their religion, the Germans had their own yule traditions. Odin would lead the Wild Hunt atop Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse, bringing toys to all the good children who left straw and carrots in their boots for Sleipnir. At some point, as Christianity took hold in Europe, Odin became Santa Claus, and Sleipnir became eight reindeer who liked to bully poor Rudolph for being different. It’s the Christian reindeer way.

Next we have a coffee cup featuring Krampus. Krampus is a popular holiday character in Germany and Austria. While Saint Nicholas is distributing gifts to the good children, Krampus is tasked with dealing with the naughty children. Krampus puts all the bad kids in his bag and takes them away. Depending on the particular tradition, he may drown them, eat them, or transport them to hell. I bet children who’ve heard of Krampus are much more well-behaved than those who have only a coal-filled stocking to fear!

I think that my new Starbucks cup designs are just as Christmassy and Christian as the snowflakes that the people complaining about the plain red cups were hoping for!

NaNoWriMo 2015

November 1, 2015 Jen Ný Writing No comments

NaNoWriMo starts today, so I might not be posting much this month.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with NaNoWriMo, it is a yearly writing challenge to write the first draft of a 50,000 word novel in one month. It takes place every November. I haven’t participated in a number of years, but I would like to give it another shot. I’m not sure if I will have time to write 50,000 words, in addition to classes and work, but I will sure try!

I still have my previous NaNoWriMo manuscripts sitting on my hard drive. Maybe one day I’ll open them up and decide what might be salvageable after some heavy editing. The point of NaNoWriMo is simply to write as much as you can. You can always go back and edit it later if you decide to publish.

My novel for this year’s NaNoWriMo will be based on different fairy tales, folklore, and mythology. My main character is a mermaid princess, who is also a witch. Her familiar is a squid. I know, it sounds cheesy, but that’s what I want to write! She is selfish, manipulative, and is prone to misusing her magic, which will ultimately be her undoing. That is all I’m going to say about my idea for my novel right now.

Anyway, if you are participating in NaNoWriMo and are looking for writing buddies, feel free to add me!