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Nintendo’s Line Of Wario Platformers Ended Far Too Long Ago
There’s a certain strain of Nintendo fan that’s probably wondering, these days: What’s up with Wario platformers? Once a staple of the company’s lineup, action games starring Mario’s bizarro-world clone have been MIA for nearly a decade. By reviewing the history of Wario, we might understand why. So let’s do it. To trace the history…
By Chris Kohler -
Developer Tries to Fix Switch Game’s Bad Translation, Makes It Worse
A month ago, we brought you the news that Vroom in the Night Sky, one of the few Nintendo Switch games currently available, would be losing its highly questionable but ultimately adorable bad English translation and getting a rewrite. That rewrite is now here, and it’s… worse, somehow. Pro localizer Clyde Mandelin has been tracking…
By Chris Kohler -
Brain-Twisting Puzzle Game Statik Is a Perfect Fit For PlayStation VR
If you enjoy “room escape” games and are looking for something to do with your PlayStation VR, look no further than Statik Released earlier this week, Statik takes its inspiration from those classic “stuck in a room filled with puzzly bits” challenges both IRL and virtual, tasking you with a series of setups that all…
By Chris Kohler -
Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite Gets A September Release Date (And A Raccoon)
September 19: That’s when you’ll be playing Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite, the next entry in the on-again-off-again will-they-or-won’t-they fighting game crossover series, on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and/or PC. Besides announcing the game’s release date, Capcom officially let loose the news about the new characters joining the 2-0n-2 tag team game’s roster of fighters. From…
By Chris Kohler -
30 Games I’d Put On The N64 Classic, Which Will Never Exist
SNES Classic wishlists? So two thousand and late: I’m gonna scoop everybody and write the 30 games I want to see on the Nintendo 64 Classic, which not only doesn’t exist, it isn’t even rumored to, and probably won’t. Check and mate. The release of Nintendo 64 in 1996 was the culmination of an orgy…
By Chris Kohler -
The 30 Games I’d Most Like To See On SNES Classic
Considering Nintendo’s bizarre decision-making process, it’s nice to hear that the company may be doing the correct and obvious thing and releasing a SNES Classic this holiday season. Here are the games I’d put on it if I were in charge. Now, I should point out that the existence of a mini-SNES is not official…
By Chris Kohler -
Storage Wars Buyer Finds $45,000 Worth of Classic Games
One of the stars of A&E’s Storage Wars, a reality show about storage locker auctions, just landed an incredible deal on a locker stuffed full to bursting with vintage video game hardware and cartridges. It’s a small fortune in games, over $50,000 worth, enough for the buyer to call it one of his “best ever”…
By Chris Kohler -
The Next Professor Layton Is Coming to America This July
Following yesterday evening’s news that the next game in the Professor Layton series will hit Japan on July 20, publisher Level-5 has now revealed that the new game starring the professor’s daughter will be available worldwide that very day—on iOS and Android, but not Nintendo 3DS. Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaire’s Conspiracy, formerly…
By Chris Kohler -
The next Professor Layton game is releasing July 20 in Japan for 3DS. Starring the professor’s daughter, the logic-puzzle adventure was formerly titled Lady Layton but is now called Layton Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaire’s Conspiracy. A Western release is planned, but no date yet.
By Chris Kohler -
This Might Be Persona 5‘s Biggest Localization Fail [Update]
Persona 5, an otherwise wonderful game, definitely has some localization issues. You can find many examples of clunky writing and awkward translation decisions, but this one might be the biggest flub of them all, for a variety of reasons. Nathaniel Chapman, a senior encounter designer for World of Warcraft, pointed out the particular spot on…
By Chris Kohler -
You—yes, you—could star in a TurboGrafx game. The fan translators of Falcom’s Legend of Xanadu games are holding open, online auditions for voice actors who want to help re-dub the classic CD-ROM games’ cutscenes into English. They’ve provided detailed instructions for how to submit your samples.
By Chris Kohler -
Nintendo Fixed a 30-Year-Old Zelda Typo For the NES Classic
An extraneous “N” inserted into the English translation of The Legend of Zelda in 1987 has finally been removed, and it only took 29 and a half years. This actually happened a few months back, because it’s in the version of Zelda included on the NES Classic Edition. But I didn’t even notice until Clyde…
By Chris Kohler -
CultureWe’re So Happy Parappa The Rapper Is Back To Frustrate Us
Parappa the Rapper was one of the defining titles of the original PlayStation, not to mention one of the games that birthed the whole rhythm genre. With its unforgettable offbeat rap tracks, adorable paper-flat design, and innovative call-and-response gameplay, it’s left quite an impression these 20 years. Today, Sony releases Parappa the Rapper Remastered for…
By Chris Kohler -
A Hacker Dropped Yoshi Into Sonic 2, And It’s Amazing
I’m not sure what I love more about this newly-released ROM hack that lets you play the Genesis classic Sonic the Hedgehog 2 as Nintendo’s Yoshi. The incredible, detailed sprite work? The fact that the gameplay has been totally overhauled to use Yoshi’s eating-and-pooping mechanic? It’s just so hard to decide. No, I’ve got it.…
By Chris Kohler -
Japanese Switch Game Ditches Its Wonderful, Terrible Translation
If you want to play the original bad translation of Nintendo Switch game Vroom In The Night Sky, you’d better buy it soon, as the developers are promising a patch that will make it grammatically correct in early April. There ain’t a whole lot on the Switch’s eShop yet, but one of the games you…
By Chris Kohler -
Culture
How To Make Awesome Japanese Curry From Bricks
Hi, I’m Chris Kohler, Kotaku’s new Features Editor. I’d like to introduce myself to you by talking about how much I love the Super Nintendo, or Ouendan. And that’s what I’d do if this were a video game website. But since it’s about snacks and anime, I will begin with Japanese curry secrets. So below…
By Chris Kohler -
Just Because A Game Is Old Doesn’t Mean It Must Be Cheap
I’m nuts for Secret of Mana. That blend of Final Fantasy RPG gameplay with Zelda-style action combat was the game that made me a fan of what we used to call “Squaresoft” back in the day. Today, all Square Enix has to do is put up a website that auto-plays one of the tunes off…
By Chris Kohler
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