Friday, January 2, 2015

The Complete 2015 Community Game-Along Schedule

Back in December 2013, I had no idea that a casual conversation with Kimimi on Twitter about how we wanted to play more Falcom games would quickly evolve into a month-long themed game event that centered around encouraging people to play more games in their backlog/"to play" list. Falcom Month was so well received that I decided to take the plunge and do a different gaming theme every month for all of 2014, and now, thanks to everyone's support, I'm continuing it into 2015!

Credit goes to Kimimi for the lovely image to go with this post! Can you guess what theme
each game corresponds to? 
Last year I pretty much planned every month as I went along, which didn't do me any organizational favors, so this year I've gone ahead and picked every theme ahead of time! If you're curious as to what's on the horizon or would like to plan your game playthroughs/purchases, the full list is below. But, if you'd like to keep upcoming themes a surprise, exit out of this page now and be sure to follow me on Twitter to get the announcement for the upcoming month's theme at the beginning of the last full week of every month.

Oh, and to bring in 2015 with bells and whistles, January will be dedicated to rhythm games (#rhythmmonth)! This was the most requested theme in my survey, so I hope a lot of people participate! A full rundown post in the usual Community Game-Along style will be coming shortly.

January – Rhythm games
February – Visual novels From Software
March – From Software Monster Hunter-likes
April – Yuji Naka
May – Monster Hunter-likes Visual novels
June – Fighting games
July – JRPGs
August – Point and click adventure
September – Spike Chunsoft
October – Kusoge
November – Natsume
December – Yoko Shimomura

[Update 1/18: Shuffled around February, March, and May themes]

Chime in with your thoughts on the different themes in the comments! I hope you have at least a couple to look forward to this year. I know I do!
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33 comments:

  1. fetJanuary 2, 2015 at 7:18 AM

    Yayyy! Maybe it’s time to beat Project Diva F 2nd on Hard!?

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  2. SamiJanuary 2, 2015 at 7:21 AM

    Love this list, I will do my best to partake! I think I have game ready for most of these themes :D

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  3. thegaygamer.comJanuary 2, 2015 at 9:19 AM

    Wonderful! I already know which rhythm games I'll be playing this month, but I'm not sure about which VNs I'll play in February. I wonder if either the Vita version of Hatoful Boyfriend or the Vita version of Steins;Gate will be out in time?

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  4. Rowan CarmichaelJanuary 2, 2015 at 2:32 PM

    If they aren't out, I wholeheartedly recommend sweet fuse if you are looking for vita stuff.

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  5. Rowan CarmichaelJanuary 2, 2015 at 2:33 PM

    I am looking forward to Yoko Shimomura month. So much great music will fill twitter I'm sure.

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  6. thegaygamer.comJanuary 2, 2015 at 4:05 PM

    Thanks, Rowan, but I've already played through Sweet Fuse. Very much liked it, though! I've also played through (and enjoyed) Hakuoki for PSP.

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  7. Rowan CarmichaelJanuary 2, 2015 at 6:46 PM

    That I could have thought of since I'm actually sure I've discussed this with you.

    Hmm, DS, you've surely played most of the decent vns there. CING's work too point and clickish for this. If you aren't going PC how about going mobile tablet...

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  8. Rowan CarmichaelJanuary 2, 2015 at 6:47 PM

    Although you are making me think of what to play for Vn month myself... Maybe it's time to patch that copy of dramatical murder

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  9. DoodlyboopsJanuary 2, 2015 at 11:38 PM

    Looking forward to pretty much every month (aside from maybe April and August) haha xD

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  10. thegaygamer.comJanuary 3, 2015 at 2:04 AM

    Unfortunately, Rowan, mobile/tablet is out as an option for me. PC/Mac is a possibility, but I'd much rather play a console or handheld game. Are 999/Virtue's Last Reward for DS/3DS considered visual novels? If so, I have 999 and have even played a bit of it, but I never really know if it's considered VN or survival horror, etc. :P Oh, or maybe there are some Wii VNs that I've failed to recognize?

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  11. Rowan CarmichaelJanuary 3, 2015 at 2:43 AM

    I agree handheld is the format for VNs. I and many people count 999 and VLR as VNs. I think they are acceptable.

    Wii VNs... Well there is PW? When you get to point and click adventure Another Code is a solid recommend too. But yeah in english I think there aren't really any for wii...

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  12. Franggio HoglandJanuary 3, 2015 at 4:16 AM

    Wait a minute! Bryan does this mean you finally bought a Vita? ^^


    If so..hrmm. Sorry for shouting but *DANGANRONPA* now! ^^

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  13. Franggio HoglandJanuary 3, 2015 at 4:22 AM

    Rhythm games...hrmm rhythm games.
    My thumbs still hurt from all that excessive Miku-ing (─‿‿─)
    Can go for broke

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  14. thegaygamer.comJanuary 3, 2015 at 4:24 AM

    Ah, then I'll probably use February's game-along to (finally) play through 999 for DS. Thank you!

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  15. thegaygamer.comJanuary 3, 2015 at 4:25 AM

    Erm, not yet, Franggio, but soon. Very soon :) Also, duh, of course I'll buy the first Danganronpa along with it. Can't believe I forgot that :P

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  16. Franggio HoglandJanuary 3, 2015 at 4:29 AM

    ok ok :)
    I'll *shout* some more at you at a later date then (─‿‿─)

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  17. thegaygamer.comJanuary 3, 2015 at 4:43 AM

    No worries. I certainly don't mind the shouting!

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  18. Rowan CarmichaelJanuary 3, 2015 at 10:33 AM

    Make August the time to play dreamfall the longest journey or CING'S master works on DS.

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  19. Rowan CarmichaelJanuary 3, 2015 at 10:34 AM

    Look up the glitch for the 3ds version of VLR, it's quite serious, but avoidable.

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  20. thegaygamer.comJanuary 3, 2015 at 10:53 AM

    Thank you for the warning, Rowan, although it's going to be some time before I even consider buying VLR, as I have to work my way through 999 first!

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  21. Rowan CarmichaelJanuary 3, 2015 at 10:54 AM

    Well in that case if you haven't bought it, just get it for vita.

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  22. willyfoureyesJanuary 8, 2015 at 9:01 AM

    Are we going to go with #spiketember for Spike Chunsoft month?

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  23. apricotsushiJanuary 8, 2015 at 9:09 AM

    Hah, that's a good one! I haven't thought far enough ahead to decide on hashtags, but I'll keep it in mind ;)

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  24. apricotsushiJanuary 8, 2015 at 9:10 AM

    I'll have to go back to Miku and attempt extreme @_@

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  25. apricotsushiJanuary 8, 2015 at 9:10 AM

    Awesome, so glad to hear it!

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  26. apricotsushiJanuary 8, 2015 at 9:10 AM

    Indeed!! I wanted to try something a little different

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  27. apricotsushiJanuary 8, 2015 at 9:11 AM

    Great, can't wait to see what you play!

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  28. apricotsushiJanuary 8, 2015 at 9:11 AM

    Go for it!!

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  29. Rowan CarmichaelJanuary 8, 2015 at 9:44 AM

    Yeah! I think composer as a theme is a great one. And Yoko Shimomura has done so much. I mean that month you could play Final Fight, Parasite Eve, Half Minute Hero: Second Coming, Block Block, and so much more.


    I mean, MOST of her work is RPGs, particularly Square ones, but there is a decent bit to work with.

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  30. Ganbare WhaleyFebruary 12, 2015 at 11:21 PM

    Well, guess I'm going to finally replay Bowser's Inside Story in December.

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  31. Rowan CarmichaelFebruary 24, 2015 at 3:36 PM

    MarchMon(th) is nearly underway. Time to buy 4g I think.

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  32. dandy lion heartJuly 3, 2015 at 9:25 AM

    oh! while it has a strong fan community in the wider context of JRPGs I find suikoden and suikoden 2 to be a bit under the radar of most people. therefore I would love if people got to experience these gems :3
    JRPGJuly might even inspire me to actually finish tales of xillia 2 and maybe even begin abyss... :D

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  33. apricotsushiJuly 7, 2015 at 10:02 AM

    I hope JRPG July inspires you to play some games! I have Suikoden 2, but I haven't gotten around to it yet...

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