Chris Kohler

All I Want To Do Is Play 16-Bit Action RPGs

It was about two months ago when, reading the latest updates on the Sega Genesis Mini, I thought to myself: “Wouldn’t it be cool if the classic 16-bit action role-playing game Crusader of Centy was on this? That’s what I’d probably play first.” The next thing I thought was: “Idiot, you have a Mega SG!…

Cadence of Hyrule, that unlikely crossover of Crypt of the NecroDancer and Zelda, has been given a June release date in Japan. That’s probably when it’ll come out in the rest of the world, too, though Nintendo hasn’t said yet. Get ready to rock out with your ocarina out.

Konami Reveals Full Contra Anniversary Lineup, And It’s Pretty Great

Konami’s upcoming Contra Anniversary Collection will include the NES version of Contra, the Sega Genesis game Contra: Hard Corps, and most other 8- and 16-bit games in the classic run-and-gun series, including the Japanese and European versions of the games—some of which are quite different from what we got in the U.S. The collection still…

Assassin’s Creed VR ‘Escape Room’ Is More Spectacle Than Puzzle

Ubisoft has a new “VR escape room” set in the world of Assassin’s Creed that you can play at over 100 different locations around the world. It’s fun, but despite its stated ties to “escape rooms,” Beyond Medusa’s Gate is more of an hourlong VR action game than a cooperative brain teaser. The first of…

A new Sony division called PlayStation Productions aims to be the Marvel Studios of PlayStation, developing and producing movies based on Sony’s game franchises, the Hollywood Reporter said today. Rather than license out the rights, Sony has decided to produce the films itself and retain creative control.

The New Castlevania Collection Is A Bloody Good Time

Castlevania Anniversary Collection isn’t quite as good as it could be, but even a limited feature set can’t stop these classic games from still being great in 2019. Released Thursday for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, and Switch (the last of which I played), Castlevania Anniversary Collection brings together eight of the early games starring…

Mega Man, Street Fighter II Coming To Genesis Mini

Sega has revealed the next batch of 10 games coming to its Genesis Mini console, including Capcom classics like Mega Man: The Wily Wars, Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition, and Ghouls ‘n Ghosts Of particular interest is Mega Man: The Wily Wars, an enhanced compilation of the first three games in the series that…

I totally missed this when it was announced earlier this week, but the Switch is finally getting an official stylus to go with Super Mario Maker 2. It’s only been announced as a preorder bonus for Japan and Europe so far, but hopefully Nintendo will give it away in the U.S., too.

Well, That About Wraps It Up For 3DS

Nintendo’s not willing to call the 3DS “dead” yet, but the company’s latest briefing has made the whole thing feel like Weekend At Bernie’s One year ago today, Nintendo held a briefing for investors at which it said it would “continue the 3DS business” and that it was “preparing new software for release in 2019…

How Panzer Dragoon Defined The Sega Saturn Era

From its early days of promise to its heartbreaking failure, the Sega Saturn was a fascinating game machine. If there’s one game series that is emblematic of Sega’s ambitious, quixotic 32-bit console, it’s Panzer Dragoon. It began as a graphical showcase of the console’s abilities, and finished its Saturn life as a role-playing game that…

Konami’s New Arcade Collection Could Have Been A Lot Better

Konami’s Arcade Classics Anniversary Edition is out this week, collecting eight of its classic coin-op games like Haunted Castle, Gradius, and Twinbee. While the games and the emulation are solid, Konami has taken a strangely bare-bones, region-locked approach to the collection that makes it a lot less exciting than it could have been. Here are…

Castlevania Collection Will Bring The Adorable Kid Dracula To The U.S. For The First Time

When Konami releases its Castlevania Collection on May 16, it will include eight classic games from the venerable series, including one that has never been released before outside Japan: Kid Dracula, a comical action game in which you play as a pint-sized version of the vampire king. Released in 1990 for the Famicom (NES) in…

Report: Nintendo Cancels Its Sleep-Tracking Device, Plans Smaller Switch For Fall

A new report on Nintendo from Japan’s Nikkei newspaper has some details about the future of Nintendo Switch hardware, as well as the future (or lack thereof) of its proposed entry into the health device market. Here’s the three major takeaways from the report, which we should stress are not official comments from Nintendo but…

Mario Odyssey, Breath Of The Wild Will Support Labo VR

Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will support the Labo VR Kit shortly after it launches this month, Nintendo said today. The games will get free updates on April 25 that add virtual reality support, using Nintendo’s $40 Labo VR goggles, which launch April 12 The VR support will…

The Boss Fight Books series, for which I wrote the volume on Final Fantasy V, launched its first-ever Humble Bundle today You can get the entire Boss Fight library, including books on Katamari, Kingdom Hearts, EarthBound, and more, and donate some or all of your payment to the Girls Make Games charity.

Super Mario Lost Levels, Punch-Out!! Heading To Switch This Month

Punch-Out!!, Star Soldier, and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, aka the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2, are the next games coming to Nintendo’s NES library on Switch Online, on April 10. In other words, it’s another fairly safe, predictable month for Nintendo, with no especially surprising releases and nothing that hasn’t already been in…

Sega announced the latest in its Sakura Wars series at Sega Fes this weekend in Japan. It also confirmed that the PlayStation 4 game, tentatively titled Project Sakura Wars, will be released in the West in Spring 2020.

Sega Will Release The Genesis Mini On September 19

Sega will release its Sega Genesis Mini worldwide on September 19, it said today. It will include 40 games, including Sonic The Hedgehog, Gunstar Heroes, and Castlevania Bloodlines. Sega made the announcement on stage at Sega Fes 2019, its annual fan event in Tokyo. There, it announced games for the Japanese Mega Drive Mini, including…

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Smashing Punks Feels Great In Streets Of Rage 4

The first thing I noticed about Streets Of Rage 4 was the weight. As I walked series mainstay Axel down a familiar, darkly-lit street filled with ne’er-do-wells to beat up, I could feel the heft in his build, the impact of his punches, the thud in his steps. It felt good. The latest project from…