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Kotaku EastSega’s Newest Music Game Could Only Exist in an Arcade
What happens when you take music games Beatmania, Keyboard Mania, and Para Para Paradise and mix them into one game? You get the Sega music arcade game Chunithm The basics of Chunithm are simple. In front of you is a screen and a touch panel. Note bars come toward you on the screen (like in…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published December 2, 2015 -
Kotaku East
Digimon Adventure Tri is for All the Adults Who Grew Up Watching Digimon
Welcome to the story of how the DigiDestined grew up. Originally published 11/27/15 Digimon Adventure Tri is a series of six planned films continuing the plot of the first two seasons of Digimon. The first of these, Reunion, was released in Japanese theaters this past week (and in the West as four separate episodes). And…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published November 29, 2015 -
Kotaku’s 2015 Anime Gift Guide
Are you shopping for an anime fan and have no earthly idea what this “anime” thing is—much less what he or she would like? Or perhaps you know what they like and are looking at your options. Either way, don’t worry. We’re here to help. Shopping for an anime fan can be a tricky thing.…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published November 27, 2015 -
Kotaku EastThe Credits are My Favorite Part of the New Neptunia
I just finished the newest Neptunia game, Uberdimension Blanc + Neptune Faction Vs. The Zombie Army, and its ending credits are its best part. [*Spoilers Begin*] Uberdimension Blanc + Neptune Faction Vs. The Zombie Army is your run-of-the-mill hack-and-slash game. Each level you are dropped into an area where you kill swarms of enemies and/or…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published November 27, 2015 -
Kotaku East
My Love Story Expertly Makes Its Jump into Live Action
Mere months after finishing its wildly popular anime run, My Love Story debuted on silver screen as a live-action film. My Love Story is the tale of three teens: Takeo, a hulking man’s man; Suna, a pretty-boy ladies’ man; and Rinko, a petite girl with a love of cooking. After Takeo saves Rinko from a…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published November 24, 2015 -
Kotaku East
Harmony Explores the Unique Hell of Living in a Utopia
Last month we looked at a zombie-powered steampunk world in the first film adapted from the works of Project Itoh, Empire of Corpses. Now we are back with the second film, Harmony, which shows just how terrible life in a utopia could be. The main star of Harmony is the setting itself. In the world…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published November 24, 2015 -
Kotaku East
The 58 Playable Characters in Project X Zone 2
What do Capcom, Sega, Bandai-Namco, and Nintendo all have in common? They all lend characters from some of their most popular franchises to team up in the mega-crossover, Project X Zone 2 [Spoiler Warning: One of these character portraits—taken from the Project X Zone 2 official site—is basically a spoiler for their parent game (which…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published November 20, 2015 -
Kotaku East
This Anime Wants to Help You Work Out
I’m no strangerto working out to anime, but this is the first time I’ve actually had the anime characters work out alongside me. Last season, we looked at an anime that had cute boys whisper sweet nothings to you before bedtime. In the same vein, Anime de Training EX is a short-form anime where cute…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published November 20, 2015 -
Kotaku East
Japanese Soldiers Explore a Fantasy World in GATE
Hey, want to see a group of soldiers fight a dragon? Of course you do. GATE is an anime about a mysterious gate that appears in Tokyo, allowing in legions of medieval soldiers who then start massacring the helpless civilian population. Amidst the chaos, Itami, an off-duty member of the Japanese Self-Defense Force (Japan’s not-quite…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published November 17, 2015 -
Kotaku East
Yomawari Makes Japan at Night Both Creepy and Beautiful
The cute little horror game Yomawari owes much of its charm to the fabulous art style of its painted backgrounds. But you don’t have to take my word for it. Just check out this gallery. Yomawari was released in Japan for the PlayStation Vita on October 29, 2015. There is currently no word on a…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published November 17, 2015 -
Kotaku East
The Up-All-Night Stream Plays Project X Zone 2 [Stream Finished]
The Sega, Capcom and Bandai-Namco mega-crossover series returns—once again bringing you into a world where your fighting force includes the likes of Chun-Li. KOS-MOS, and Sanshiro Segata …But I’ll probably just repeatedly use Phoenix Wright to kill enemies with paper work. Come join me! Watch live video from BiggestinJapan on www.twitch.tv Project X Zone 2…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published November 17, 2015 -
Kotaku East
In the World of Charlotte, Every Superpower Has a Glaring Flaw
Have you ever thought that superpowers in comics were a bit overly convenient—that they lacked the obvious downsides such powers should have? The anime Charlotte is quick to point that out for both comic and dramatic effect. Charlotte is the tale of a world where across the planet, various children and teens develop superpowers. However,…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published November 13, 2015 -
Kotaku East
Yomawari Shows How to Make a Tutorial Meaningful and Shocking
Tutorials, although necessary in many games, are usually boring and/or interrupt the flow of the game and its story. Yomawari—aka the cutest little horror game ever—plays on this fact to make a tutorial that both shocks you and teaches you all you need to know to play the game. [Note: This article spoils the first…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published November 13, 2015 -
Kotaku East
Five Must-Watch Anime for Fall 2015
This season there are 54 new anime on the air, so it can be more than a little difficult to know which ones to watch. But now that the season has reached its half-way point, we at Kotaku East come bearing our recommendations. Fellow Kotaku author Toshi Nakamura and I have spent the past few…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published November 10, 2015 -
ReviewsAlice Otherlands Is a Rocky Experiment in Filmmaking
American McGee’s Alice is easily one of my favorite twisted re-imaginings of classic literature, so when I saw there was a Kickstarter for Alice short films, I pitched in without a second thought. However, even with my nostalgia turned up high, the final products are a mixed bag to say the least. The first short,…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published November 6, 2015 -
Kotaku East
The Up-All-Night Stream Plays Yomawari [Stream Complete]
Aww. Look at that cute little girl with her little flashli—WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!? Update: The stream is now complete. You can watch it in its entirety at the links below. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Yomawari was released in Japan for the PlayStation Vita…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published November 6, 2015 -
Kotaku East
Rotoscoping Makes this Anime Even More Terrifying
I don’t often find Japanese horror all that scary, but you want to know how to ratchet up the scare factor on Japanese horror? Rotoscope it. Kowabon is a short-form horror anime currently airing in Japan. Instead of using the usual CG or hand-drawn animation techniques, it uses rotoscoping—i.e., recording in live action and then…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published November 3, 2015 -
Reviews
Kara no Shojo – The Second Episode: The Kotaku Review
The original Kara no Shojo was one of the most violent and psychologically disturbing games I have ever played. And while the second is also full of brutal murder and complex mysteries, it never quite reaches the soul-crushing despair of the first. [This review spoils much of the original Kara No Shojo. For a non-spoiler…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published November 3, 2015 -
Kotaku East
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth: the Kotaku Import Preview
Digimon. Digital Monsters. Digimon are the champions. Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth follows a young teen (in my case, a girl named Ami) and her adventures in both the real world and the virtual reality world of EDEN. One day, she and her two friends, Nokia and Arata, are given the hacker ability to capture and…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published October 30, 2015 -
Kotaku East
Making a Zombie Film During a Zombie Outbreak is Wonderfully Silly
If your first thought at the outbreak of a real zombie apocalypse would be to grab a camera because the resulting footage will look great in your zombie movie, you’re probably a character in the newest Neptunia title. The Neptunia series was created around a fun concept: What if game consoles—i.e., the Playstation 3, Xbox…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published October 30, 2015
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