Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix is the newest in a long line of last generation titles being remastered for the current generation of HD consoles. Like many of these remasters, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix is a collection of several games—in this case, Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories. It also…
As I’ve been working my way through Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix this past week, it occurs to me just how much I dislike the Japanese cast of the games in the collection—which, given how bad English dubs can be, is pretty surprising. But it isn’t that the Japanese voice actors aren’t good, rather it’s…
The HD collection Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix contains an HD remastered version of the original Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories. Also included in this package is a remastering of Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days. However, unlike the other two parts of the collection, this HD version of 358/2 Days is…
The Kingdom Hearts series has found great success creating an adventure centered around a set of original characters—along with Donald and Goofy—going from Disney universe to Disney universe. This framework has allowed players to interact with some of the most well-known and beloved movies of all time in new and exciting ways—and adding in alternate…
HD versions of classic PlayStation 2 titles are all the rage these days, with everything from Resident Evil 4 to Shadow of the Colossus getting a new coat of paint. The newest in the long line of HD remasters is Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix—which includes Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts: Re:Chain of Memories…
The last six years have been a great time to be a Macross gamer. There have been three full PSP titles and an additional three short PS3 games as Blu-ray extras as well. And now, thanks to the success of these six games comes the franchise’s first full PS3 game, Macross 30 Good — An…
The last six years have been a real renaissance for the Macross franchise in Japan. There has been an incredibly popular anime series, three movies, and seven games. The latest in the series is the incredibly ambitious Macross 30, a game that combines 30 years of Macross characters and lore into a new and original…
Yesterday saw the release of Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix in Japan. And as I plunged into the graphically remastered Disney/Square-Enix crossover, I couldn’t help but think about the one thing the franchise needs more than anything else: more Scrooge McDuck. The richest duck in the world is no stranger to the Kingdom Hearts series.…
Macross 30: Voices Across the Galaxy is a title celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Macross series and is a crossover title between the five major Macross series: Macross, Macross Plus, Macross Zero, Macross 7, and Macross Frontier Of course, like all things Macross, it comes with transforming planes, love triangles, and more than a…
Over this last year, the Macross series has been celebrating its 30th anniversary with concerts, movies, and even a new PlayStation 3 game But what exactly is Macross, and if you’re looking to break into the series, where should you start? To start with, what makes Macross “Macross” are three things: transforming fighter planes, a…
Late last week we took a look at the phenomenon of “undubbing”: the act of hacking a game and replacing the English voice track with the Japanese one. This, in turn, got me me thinking about some of the games most deserving of an undub—and let me tell you, there are many to choose from.…
Back before the release of Phantasy Star Online 2 on the PC, one of its main selling points was that it would eventually be released on the PlayStation Vita as well. Now, nearly a year after the game’s PC launch, this has finally come to pass. And while the Vita version of the game remains…
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about the connection between games and anime and how as a young gamer I would eagerly watch any game adaptation I could get my hands on. Sometimes (many times) I wound up entering a world of disappointment. However, other times I would come across a…
Let’s face it, over the years there have been some pretty terrible English dubs of Japanese games. Moreover, these horrible dubs often replace an excellent Japanese voice cast. Now while there is nothing wrong with liking your Japanese games in English with English voices, have you ever wished you could just play some of your…
While it has been in print for just over five years, it was only recently that I learned of the existence of the Japan-only Professor Layton manga, Professor Layton and the Cheerful Mystery. At first I was excited to get it and dive into another original puzzle-filled Layton adventure. Then my anticipation plummeted when I…
I love brain teasers and have ever since I was a kid. Whether they came from books or classic adventure games, I fondly remember spending hours thinking about them. And no series of games cashes in on my brain teaser nostalgia quite like the Professor Layton series. Thus I was first in line this last…
The Professor Layton series is one of the staples of the Nintendo DS and its successor, the 3DS. The series has sold over 13 million copies across the world and has spawned spinoff games, novels, a manga, and a feature film. And what is the inspiration for all this? A book series that series creator…
Late last year, we took a look at Accel World, the sister series to Sword Art Online. But not all the episodes of the series aired on TV. Rather, two extra episodes were released as part of the collector’s editions of the two Accel World games: Accel World: Awakening of the Silver Wings and Accel…
With the release of Professor Layton and the Azran Legacies this past Thursday in Japan, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about this series—perhaps too much. The Professor Layton games follow the titular Professor Hershel Layton, a professor of archaeology based in London who—like famed Dr. Henry Jones, Jr.—spends far more time solving ancient mysteries…
When it comes to shooters (and their bullet-hell cousins) I am hardly an expert, but I do enjoy a good SHMUP from time to time. Though I tend toward the side-scrolling variety like Gradius or Macross: Do You Remember Love, I did play more than a little 1942 back in the day. But hands-down my…
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