Ben Bertoli

The Week In Games: Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This

Media Molecule’s ambitious game-building system, Dreams, is officially launching this week, which means we can all finally experience the immense pressure of being an indie game developer. The Dreams beta has been out for nearly a year, so there should be plenty to play around with once the game finally hits this Friday. There have…

A new video from Bandai Namco reveals both Ultra Instinct Goku and female Super Saiyan Kefla will be joining the Dragon Ball FighterZ roster this spring as part of FighterZ Pass 3. Kefla is a fusion of fan favorite Dragon Ball Super characters Caulifla and Kale. Hope you’re ready to eat your vegetables.

The Famicom’s Built-In Microphone Was Wonderfully Weird

There have always been slight regional differences between consoles, but when the Nintendo Entertainment System hit store shelves in the fall of 1985 it had been stripped of nearly all the form and charm of its Japanese counterpart. It was clear that Nintendo didn’t want the NES to be seen as a cheery “family computer,”…

I Finally Got My First Xbox

I’ve never wanted to own an Xbox console, if I’m being completely honest. For the past 19 years Microsoft has put out exclusive after exclusive that don’t appeal to me in the slightest. The consistency is actually kind of impressive. Not that Xbox consoles or exclusives are poorly made—they’re just usually not for me. Even…

Sunday Comics: You Stupid Idiot

Hello! It’s time for Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published Feb. 2. Read more of Corpse Run (This week’s comic was for Hourly Comic Day and it was a bit long, check it…

I Tried More Weird Cereals So You Don’t Have To

The world of breakfast cereal is an ever-changing battle ground, ruled by dependable classics and littered with the broken boxes of sugar-coated newcomers. Only you, the consumer, can shape the outcome of this century-long struggle to rule “the most important meal of the day.” Ok, maybe cereal selection isn’t quite that serious. One year ago…

The Owl House Is Off To An Enchanting Start

While animated shows often cater to specific age groups, there are many that strive for a mix of humor, action, and emotional weight that can appeal to all audiences. The cartoons that manage this feat always seem to draw a devoted following overnight. The Owl House, which premiered on Disney Channel this past month, appears…

The Week In Games: Off The Chain!

It’s almost September, and you know what that means. It’s time to ride the cybernetic battle cat of your dreams into the alien frey. Huzzah! PlatinumGames’ newest Nintendo exclusive is finally here, and it looks like it might actually live up to the hype. I still don’t really understand what the game is about, but…

The Original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater Soundtrack Is Still A Blast

Gaming series known for their superior soundtracks often have one thing in common — a wide array of powerful or catchy music orchestrated to fit a specific environment. Though plenty of games (mostly annual sports series) have used popular prerecorded tunes as part of their soundtrack in the past, they rarely stand out from the…

That Time Nintendo Took the Game Boy (and Pokémon) Online

When it comes to online play and digital distribution, Nintendo always seem two steps behind its competitors. But things weren’t always like this, at least in Japan. Back in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s Nintendo actually brought both the Famicom and Super Famicom (known as the NES and SNES elsewhere) online via powerful console…

Psst. Hey. Ben here. If you’re in need of a fun gaming podcast, you should definitely check out my newest show — Memory Card. Every episode covers the history surrounding a weird and wonderful character, console, accessory or game. You can find it on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Spotify

Looking Back on Dragon Ball Z’s Best Filler Episode

When the Dragon Ball Z anime premiered in April of 1989, it was a mere six months behind its Dragon Ball manga source material. For a half-hour show that aired every week without fail, this wasn’t much of a gap to fill. It was important to the Dragon Ball Z showrunners that the anime storyline…

Sunday Comics: That’s Kinda Dumb

Hello! It’s time for Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published Aug 19. Read more of Awkward Zombie Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published Aug. 22. Read more of Corpse Run Clueless Hero by…

7 Classic Cartoons That Deserve A TV Special

With a wide variety of animated movies and TV series accessible around the clock, it’s easy for viewers to fall into the bottomless pit of nostalgia that is streaming classic cartoons. While Hulu, whose selection includes the likes of Rugrats, Dexter’s Lab, and Dragon Ball, is undoubtedly the current champion of throwback cartoon streaming, they’re…

Well, Kotaku readers, we’re outta here for now. Thanks so much for letting us entertain you with our articles this weekend. We hope you enjoyed them. If you’d like to follow us, we can be found on Twitter at: Ben – @SuperBentendo Narelle – @Zarnyx Peter – @TieryasXu

The Week In Games: Might As Well Jump

Everyone’s favorite uncomfortably detailed manga dream team leads a powerful and stylish week of new games. I mean, just look at that hair. In high school I was a big fan of the various series featured in the long running Shonen Jump magazine, as well as the many television shows they had inspired. I bought…

20 Years Later, Snowboard Kids 2 Remains a Hidden Gem

While the Nintendo 64 wasn’t the most revolutionary home console, the clunky cartridge-based system still managed to house some of the best games of the mid-to-late ‘90s. Quite a few N64 classics, including Super Smash Bros., Donkey Kong 64, and Pokemon Snap, will celebrate their 20th anniversaries in 2019. Joining these memorable 64-bit outings is…

Lights, Camera, Action Figures!

It’s not often one sees a picture of a stormtrooper shopping for sugary sweet cereal or the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles duking it out in a heated game of Mario Kart 64. And yet it’s this type of nostalgic crossover imagery that keeps amateur toy photographer Duane Perera working late into the night. Perera, who…

Sunday Comics: Horrific Slime Farms

Hey there! It’s time for Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published June 2, 2017. This week’s comic was focused on Hourly Comic Day and was a bit too long to post, so we went…

I Tried These Weird New Cereals So You Don’t Have To

If you’ve walked down the breakfast aisle of your local supermarket in the last few months you’re likely aware that some sort of bizarre cereal apocalypse is upon us. Classic cereals of the past are currently being forced to bump elbows with some of the strangest new additions to the junk food breakfast market in…