Brian Ashcraft

Being Good at Video Games Isn’t Cool, Says Japanese Poll

You might be terrible at video games. You might be amazing. And if you’re a guy who’s good at games, does that make you cool? That’s what one Japanese website wanted to find out. According to Buzz Plus, the following question was posed to two hundred women in Japan: “Do you think men who are…

Street Fighter Comes To Life with Japanese Celebrities

It’s not everyday you can flip on your television in Japan and see major celebrities cosplaying as Street Fighter II characters and talking incessantly about the game. Last week on variety show Ame Talk, a handful of famous Japanese people who are into video games dressed up and recounted their Street Fighter experiences and memories…

How Final Fantasy XV‘s Combat Works

Last December, Kotaku reported on Final Fantasy XV‘s combat. At the time, details were somewhat abstract. Today, we have a detailed list of how exactly the controls function. Square Enix showed off the basic controls in tonights FFXV walkthrough, and the images below are from the demo (via Japanese site Hachima Kikou). Perhaps seeing how…

Final Fantasy XV Is 60 Percent Finished

Well, we’ve waited this long. I guess we’ll be waiting a little longer. In FFXV demo tonight, director Hajime Tabata was asked how much of the game is currently finished. Tabata replied, “We’re now at 60 percent.” Last September, Tabata told Kotaku the game was 55 percent done. Honestly, I imagine the team has been…

Hot on the heels of Puzzle & Dragon‘s Super Mario Bros. edition is a Final Fantasy collaboration for Japan. As noted on Otanew, expect more details at a later date. No word yet about an international release.

Kim Jong-un: A Haircut Odyssey

Photos have emerged of a “new” Kim Jong-un hairdo. Simply put, it is spectacular. But how did we get here? When did this happen? Let’s take a look back at Kim’s coifs from over the years. The world didn’t always know that this ruthless dictator had such oppressive hair. For example, in the original backstory…

Japan’s Most Traditional Internet Cafe

There are loads of internet cafes in Japan. But it seems there’s only one that looks like a traditional Japanese inn. Welcome to Nagomi Style Cafe Located in Tokyo’s geek mecca Akihabara, this internet cafe is designed after a Kyoto inn. The Japanese word “nagomi” (和み) mean to soothe or calm. That’s exactly what this…

Thanks, Obama for the Anime Photoshops

You might know him as the President of the United States. Or maybe you know him as something else: The Commander in Chief…of Anime. For a while now, it’s been a running gag online that President Obama is really into anime. Like really. Even in 2009, there were those online wondering whether or not the…

Why Final Fantasy XV Has Fantastic Hair

As a rule, Final Fantasy games have amazing hair. But the ‘dos in Final Fantasy XV look especially good. Thank fancy tech, professional hair stylists, and wigs for that. During the last console generation, a glut of characters had buzz cuts or sported coifs that looked like they were drenched in hairspray. Those bad hair…

The Book That Inspired “Totoro”

Ever wonder what the name “Totoro” means? It’s the mispronunciation of the word “troll” from a Norwegian children’s story, that’s what. My Neighbor Totoro is a 1988 classic from Studio Ghibli. It follows the adventures of two sisters with mysterious spirits given the “Totoro” moniker. The inspiration for the name is a fairy tale. You…

“Ninja Day” Is an Actual Holiday in Japan

February 22 is “National Ninja Day.” The Japanese holiday isn’t an official day off. That is, at least not for those unable to slip out of work. Why 2/22? It’s a word play, because in Japanese the number two is “ni.” You know, kind of like the “ni” in “ninja” (忍者), but with “nin” or…

Remember that 20th Anniversary PS4 charity auction? It seems things fell through with the winner bidder. Sony, however, is going to shell out the winning amount to Save the Children Japan, along with the other 15 million yen it had promised. The PS4 will go on display at the Sony Showroom in Tokyo.

Cosplay Boobs, Reinvented

Not everyone has enormous boobs. I don’t, for example. And not everyone with large breasts is keen to show them while cosplaying. Fair enough! So here’s a smart solution via one industrious cosplayer. Cosplayer Nameko Children has come up with what she calls the “fluffy bust.” Her creation does a fine job of capturing the…

Nintendo Really Likes Metacritic

This is actually rather sad. At an investor’s meeting today, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata talked a lot about how great Nintendo’s Metacritic scores are—even going as far as to brag that Nintendo’s current releases have higher Metacritic numbers than Sony’s or Microsoft’s. Um, congrats? Keep in mind that Iwata is talking to boring investor types.…

Amiibos Will Unlock NES and Super NES Games

Now, you buy Amiibos. You collect them. You scan them in. But Nintendo says Amiibos can—and will be—so much more. In the future, Nintendo says, they’ll unlock NES and Super NES games. Well, parts of them. In a recent investors meeting, Nintendo exec Satoru Iwata outlined the company’s Amiibos plans. “We are also planning a…

Japan Has a Technical School for Pro-Gaming

Dream of being a pro-gamer? Live in Japan? Good news! There’s now a school for you. Vocational institution Tokyo School of Anime is rolling out its first e-Sport curriculum, which is also the first of its kind in Japan. Until now the school has concentrated on those hoping to enter the anime industry and voice…

Hayao Miyazaki Calls Charlie Hebdo Cartoons a “Mistake”

Last month, the Paris offices of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo were attacked, leaving twelve dead. Recently, however, famed Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki said he believes the French paper’s Muhammad cartoons were a “mistake.” In a TBS radio interview, Miyazaki discussed the shooting, which took the lives of several of France’s most famous satirical cartoonists. Miyazaki…

Let Zelda Remakes Show You How Instruction Booklets Are Vanishing

These days, many companies—Nintendo, included—have been moving away from game booklets. That’s making some nostalgic for the days of printed instructions. Newly released The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D does not come with a printed instruction booklet in Japan, something Twitter user Cocoa was quick to point out was a buzzkill. [Photo:p_cocoa_f] There’s simply…

The Sources of One Piece. It Seems. 

Ever feel like you’ve seen One Piece characters somewhere else before? It’s not just you who thinks that. In the past, Kotaku has profiled the ways that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda allegedly borrowed from other cartoons. There was also that image showing the famous people that appear to have inspired numerous One Piece characters.…

Capcom is releasing an arcade version of popular smartphone music game Cytus. Dubbed Cytus OMEGA, the game gets a fancy cabinet for its Japanese game center release, which you can see in this 4Gamer pic.