When I announced my intention to date a virtual girl in the newest iteration of Love Plus by asking all of you to help me choose which romantic foil to go after, I noted that it would not be my first dating sim. Moreover, I mentioned that dating sims are the best tool I know of for expanding your Japanese ability. » 4/22/14 5:00am 4/22/14 5:00am

Here's a fascinating new Kickstarter project: an RPG that sets out to teach Japanese to English speakers. » 2/26/14 4:30pm 2/26/14 4:30pm

This weekend I went on a magical flavor journey across the Pacific, to a land where what Americans deem worthy of snackhood is laughably tame. This weekend I tasted 15 different varieties of Japanese Kit Kats, and I am forever changed by the experience. » 2/11/13 4:00pm 2/11/13 4:00pm

Earlier this year the folks at CollegeHumor created a video that summarized the sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica in 16-bit Japanese RPG style. According to commenter Shinta, they weren't too far off. » 6/13/12 5:30pm 6/13/12 5:30pm

In today's turn-based edition of Speak Up on Kotaku, commenter Monsieur.Froid admits that his Japanese role-playing game experience is limited to Final Fantasy XII. We cannot let that stand. Help him choose a more definitive JRPG to get him hooked on the genre. » 3/14/12 11:00am 3/14/12 11:00am

As a game journalist living and working in Japan, the question I'm most commonly asked is, "What game can help me learn Japanese?" The answer: Slime Forest Adventure » 3/13/12 5:30am 3/13/12 5:30am

In a world where rough and gruff is the new heroic norm, commenter Paradox Me wonders why everyone is hating on Japanese character design lately. » 12/22/11 11:20am 12/22/11 11:20am

Like a fish borne from the ashes of Dreamcast's Bass Fishing comes another wacky Japanese toy: Takara Tomy's Virtual Master Reel. It's an augmented-reality fishing reel that uses its 0.3MP camera to insert your real surroundings into the fishing game. » 2/02/11 5:12pm 2/02/11 5:12pm

Bethesda beats any potential fan-made Fallout 3demakes to the punch by creating its own for the Japanese Fallout website. It's all in Japanese, but old school role-playing is the universal language. » 1/03/11 12:20pm 1/03/11 12:20pm

Square Enix Japan is creating a series of video blogs called Life in Eorzea, with the first one featuring plenty of Chocobos, tiny little guys dancing, and plenty of Japanese people talking. » 3/31/10 1:20pm 3/31/10 1:20pm

I've seen many a lovely retro gaming room in my lifetime, but this one from Netherlands resident donkey*kong makes me want to lay my head down on his Famicom pillow and quietly pass away. » 12/30/09 5:30pm 12/30/09 5:30pm