Chris Kohler

Super Mario Maker 2: The Kotaku Review

There’s more to Super Mario Maker 2 than just making Mario. It’s got a story mode, for instance, plus online and local multiplayer for groups of four. But the level editor is still the star of the show. Making one’s own Mario levels remains a joy, and Mario Maker 2 is designed to bring out…

Mario Maker 2 Is Hiding Two Secret New Power-Ups

While most of the course creation parts in Super Mario Maker 2 are unlocked from the start, there are two that you can’t immediately access. You’ll definitely want them, though. One of Mario Maker 2‘s new features is Story Mode, in which you play through over 100 levels designed by Nintendo. This mostly stands on…

Trials Of Mana Has No Manual, So Here’s How To Play It

The good news: Seiken Densetsu 3, the sequel to Secret of Mana, is finally available outside Japan for the first time, and it’s now called Trials of Mana. The bad news: Collection of Mana, the Switch game that includes Trials, doesn’t have a manual, and Trials is a complicated game. Here’s what you should know…

If You’re Going To Play Mario Maker 2, You Should Probably Get A Stylus

Super Mario Maker 2 is coming on June 28, the latest in a growing line of Wii U games to get repurposed (and in this case, substantially enhanced) for Switch. I was a bit apprehensive about how Mario Maker would handle the move, since it was originally designed for a resistive touchscreen and the Switch…

Konami is patching its arcade, Castlevania, and Contra collections today to add Japanese versions of most of the games. It’s also adding button remapping to Castlevania and Contra. Now you can play Castlevania III with the better music.

How Is The Original Contra Still So Got Damn Good

Contra Anniversary Collection surprise launched earlier this week, and with it came the first official rerelease of the Nintendo Entertainment System version of Contra in a long while. And I have to ask: How is it that this game is still so freaking good? I try my best to not wear my rose-colored glasses when…

Collection Of Mana Is 3 Amazing Games With Not Enough Extra Features

One of the first Switch games I bought, way back in the spring of 2017, was the Japanese version of Collection of Mana. It was a very simple package: emulated versions of the first three games in the Mana series, and little else. Two years later, the U.S. version is out, and not much has…

Looks like E3’s West Hall had a temporary power outage, which caused this amusing Zelda II-themed “technical difficulties” screen to pop up during the Nintendo Treehouse Live stage show. Nice planning ahead, Nintendo!

Trials Of Mana Looks Much Better Than The Secret Of Mana Remake

Disappointed by last year’s 3D remake of Secret of Mana? Well, Trials of Mana, the upcoming remake of its sequel, looks nothing like it. Nintendo and Square Enix showed off the Switch game on today’s Treehouse Live stream, and it looks like a completely new, modern game design based on the Super NES original. The…

The remake of Link’s Awakening is getting its own Amiibo, and, well, just look at this guy. So brave.

Everything Nintendo Announced At E3 2019

As is tradition, Nintendo finished out the four-day marathon of E3 livestreams with its Direct presentation Tuesday morning. The big news? A full sequel to Zelda: Breath of the Wild. We also got updates on Luigi’s Mansion, Animal Crossing, and a bunch of smaller announcements, plus two exciting new Smash characters. Games From Nintendo The…

Everything Square Enix Announced At E3 2019

The first details on how Final Fantasy VII Remake will actually, you know, play, plus the first look at Avengers, were the highlights of Square Enix’s E3 briefing on Monday night. Lots of smaller announcements, including the long-awaited Western releases of some classic Japanese RPGs, followed. Here’s all the new news. Crystal Dynamics’ long-awaited Avengers…

Limited Run Games announced a slew of upcoming physical releases of digital games this morning. Of particular interest is the news that it’s getting into the “classic repro” biz with Star Wars cartridges for NES, Game Boy, and N64. It’ll release these beginning next month.

Microsoft Ends Xbox Backward Compatibility Efforts With A Final Batch Of Games

Some bittersweet news this E3: Microsoft has announced another batch of games from the original Xbox and Xbox 360 that it will bring to the Xbox One via backward compatibility—but it’ll be the final batch. “After this week, we have no plans to add additional Original Xbox or Xbox 360 titles to the catalog on…

Everything Ubisoft Announced At E3 2019

Watch Dogs Legion, a new action adventure with a beautiful look called Gods & Monsters, and a $15 per month subscription that’ll get you access to over 100 different Ubisoft games were the highlights of Ubi’s E3 presentation on Monday afternoon. There was also a dog. Read on for more about the dog. Watch Dogs…

Everything Bethesda Announced At E3 2019

Some intriguing new games are coming from Bethesda’s studios, including new ones from the folks behind The Evil Within and Dishonored. Bethesda’s E3 2019 show featured new games plus lots of updates for Doom, Fallout, Elder Scrolls, Wolfenstein and more. Even Commander Keen is back. Ghostwire: Tokyo is the next game from Shinji Mikami’s studio.…

Everything Microsoft Announced At E3 2019

The first details on a powerful new Xbox console, release dates for anticipated games like Cyberpunk 2077, and another developer acquired by Xbox Game Studios led Microsoft’s packed slate of announcements for its E3 briefing on Sunday. Project Scarlett, the next-generation Xbox console, will be released for the 2020 holiday season. Halo Infinite will launch…

Double Dragon II, City Connection, and Volleyball are this month’s NES games being added to Switch Online on June 12. Nothing we haven’t seen on Virtual Console in the past, although playing the two-player Double Dragon II online sounds like fun.

The Genesis Mini Will Include A Fan-Made Game [Update]

Sega has revealed the final batch of games on its Genesis Mini, and there’s one particularly surprising inclusion: a game that’s never been seen before on Genesis, seemingly made by a fan. It’s a beautiful-looking port of the 1987 Taito arcade shoot-em-up Darius, which never had a Genesis version back in the day. The developers…

Google will detail the launch of its cloud gaming platform Stadia via a “Stadia Connect” livestream on June 6, including information about new games and, yes, the price. It’ll all start at 9 a.m. Pacific