Kotaku: Clover Studios

The Long Path to Discovering that God Hand is Awesome

Stephen Totilo — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 13:00:00 EDT

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How great was God Hand, a 2006 PlayStation 2 game that IGN gave a 3.0 out of 10 to? Very, very great, Kotaku reader Bondage Zombie finally realized. And with that eureka he has sworn off looking at review scores, as he explains in today's Speak Up on Kotaku. More »

Okami Wii Port Rumors Return

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 20:20:23 EDT

Is there yet another Capcom megaton announcement coming? Possibly if we believe French gaming site—that we've never heard of until today—Jeux Actu's report that Okami has been "confirmed on Wii." Given that news from Capcom's London Gamer's Day, including revelations that Street Fighter IV, Dark Void and a PLAYSTATION 3 port of Lost Planet were all en route, we won't blink at an announcement that Capcom is bringing Okami to the Wii. More »

Seeds Gets Craptastic New Name

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 01:00:27 EDT

Clover Studios was Capcom's boutique team behind game innovative games like Okami and God Hand. What's more, Clover is a pretty nice name! When things soured with Capcom, the studio was shuttered and producer Atsushi Inaba, Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami and Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya formed SEEDS. It was Clover reborn, and likewise it also had a cool name. The emphasis here is had. Over on the SEEDS official website, there is a notice that Seeds is apparently merging with ~~IT company ODD Solutions~~ ODD Corporation to form, brace yourself, Platinum Games. Yes, PLATINUM GAMES. The website says something like: More »

Okami Snags Questionably Coveted Edge Award

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 18:20:53 EDT

At the fifth annual Edinburgh Interactive Festival, which runs today and tomorrow, the winner of the EIF Edge Award was announced, with Clover Studios' PlayStation 2 epic Okami nabbing the prize. I assume that title is something along the lines of "Best Game of 2007" or "Exceptional Achievement in Game Design" but it may be dryly appropriate, simply "Winner of the Edge Award." More »

GDC07: Capcom's Inafune Slams Clover Producer

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 19:40:01 EST

In a session with Capcom R&D head Keiji Inafune, the creator responsible for games like Dead Rising, Lost Planet and Mega Man, the topic turned to the recently closed Clover Studios. Session moderator N'Gai Croal asked Inafune about Clover's gorgeous financial underperformers Okami and Viewtiful Joe. More »

Okami Art Book Comes Stateside

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 21:40:35 EST

Just last month we wrote briefly about the collected art works of Clover Studios' Okami, then lamented that it was a Japanese only release, making an import of the book an expensive ordeal. More »

Okami Art Collected For Your Benefit

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 00:00:36 EST

Just because Clover Studios has shuttered their doors forever, doesn't mean you can enjoy more Okami. Oh sure, if you actually want to play future Okami games, you're screwed. But if you want to bask in 288 pages of glorious Okami artwork, you can always pick up the art book chock-a-block with character designs, paintings, cool 8-bit style world maps and even some sample sheet music. More »

Before We Knew the Sad Truth, Inaba Explained Clover

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 06:22:18 EDT

Sick of hearing about how Capcom smothered Clover Studios with a giant throw pillow and left the arty studio for dead in a dumpster out by the airport? Me neither! Gamasutra's Brandon Sheffield has an insightful interview with Atsushi Inaba from way back at TGS, way back when there was still a Clover Studios. While the word has always been that Clover was a word play on "creativity lover," Inaba points out: More »

Capcom Exec Talks Clover, Badmouths Sega

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 00:22:18 EDT

Former Sega marketer and current Capcom VP, Charles Bellfield pulls no punches in a recent GameDaily interview. With Clover Studios (God Hand, Okami) recent closing, Bellfield talks about what that means for Capcom and what exactly the subsidiary was. He points out that it was "physically a floor in our sixteen-story R&D building in Osaka in Japan. It was identical to the other fifteen floors that were in the same building..." Moreover, the majority of the team has been transitioning from Clover to Capcom for months. Continuing, Bellfield adds: More »

God Hand Equals No Sleep

Brian Crecente — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 15:19:34 EDT

I didn't go to sleep until 4 a.m. this morning and was back up at 7:30 a.m. More »

Kotaku Stalku: Resident Evil Dude At LAX

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 15 May 2006 12:24:11 EDT

After checking-in at LAX for my flight to Osaka, I spotted a familiar face in the international terminal. Rather, I saw two: Atsushi Inaba and Shinji Mikami (Devil May Cry, the Resident Evil franchise). Both worked together on Okami. And both apparently traveled together as well. More »

E306: English Okami Hands-On

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 15 May 2006 07:22:45 EDT

Capcom is doing the world a big favor and bringing Okami to the English-speaking world. (Thanks, guys) The company is hard at work on localizing the title, translating oodles and oodles of kanji characters and making sure the title jives with a foreign audience. Beautiful yes, but since the title is entrenched in Japanese calligraphy and mythology, there is a concern something might be lost in translation. So, how does the English version play so far? Pretty damn good. Everyone who owns the game here in Japan has remarked that kanji makes the game more interesting. It does, sure. However, even without the cultural background, the English language game is a blast. The tutorial is simple and players will be able to pick up the game fairly quick. The localization so far is coming along nicely and doesn't read "too stiff." And yes, the game is still gorgeous. More »

Okami Creator Talks, All Agree The Game's Purdy

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 17 Apr 2006 16:22:55 EDT

Osaka's Clover Studio held a symposium for the eagerly awaited Okami for the PS2. Company prez and developer Atsushi Inaba (Viewtiful Joe) sat down to discuss the arduous process of creating the game, which has been pushed back several times. When the overseas media praised the game at 2005's E3, the team's confidence was given a boast says Inaba. More »

Clover Announces God Hand, Slaps Up Site

Michael McWhertor — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 10:32:48 EDT

Clover Studios, the guys and gals responsible for the Viewtiful Joe series and the upcoming graphical tear-jerker Okami, announced their next PS2 title yesterday. Titled "God Hand" it's... a fighter — specifically of the "god action" variety. That ought to clear it up. Well, the production team features Resident Evil and Devil May Cry staffers, so just trust that it'll be damn good and keep your eyeballs peeled for more. More »