Peter Tieryas

Naruto Has Some Of The Best Battles In Anime

I’m loving Naruto. I only recently started binge watching the show on Netflix. I’d always been aware of the anime series, but never knew what it was actually about. I’d wrongly assumed it was a kid’s show and didn’t think much of it, but on a whim, I started streaming it and have been hooked.…

The Original Street Fighter II Is Still My Favorite

I recently picked up the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection and started playing through all the different games in the series. The original Street Fighter II alone had multiple updates that added new characters, abilities, and balance tweaks. I’ve always enjoyed the prequel to the series, Street Fighter Alpha, with its anime aesthetic, super combos,…

The First Suikoden Is An Underrated Gem For The PS1

If there’s one series I wish more gamers knew about, it’s Suikoden. A Japanese role-playing game with tactical strategy elements, it was developed by Konami and released on the original PlayStation. I’d actually played Suikoden II and III first, really enjoying both. Suikoden II was one of the best JRPGs on the PS1, a game…

Midnight Diner’s “Chicken Fried Rice” Episode Combines Good Food, Video Games, And Family

Midnight Diner is one of those shows I approach like a late night snack; I save it for special occasions, wait until I’m in the right mood, then savor its company. The new season just released on Netflix and as the first episode centered around a game director, I thought it was the perfect episode…

What Games Are You Most Thankful For?

This has been an interesting year for me personally with lots of ups and downs. I’ll be honest; I’m looking forward to saying goodbye to this year. Through it all, I’m grateful for the amazing games I got to play and revisit. The remasters of classic games for the latest generation of consoles makes it…

Chrono Trigger’s Campfire Scene Is A Meditation On Friendship, Regrets, And Time Itself

The opening of Chrono Trigger shows the pendulum of time, swinging away at the fractures breaking history apart. It’s been more than two decades since the game’s release, but many of its pivotal moments still stay with me, from the Trial of Crono for Marle’s kidnapping, to the confrontation with Magus at his castle, all…

Gradius III Was Fun And Hard As Bullet Hell

I grew up thinking space was infested with monsters, massive killer plants, and Easter Island Heads thanks in large part to the classic shmup (shoot em’ up) series, Gradius The Gradius games were spacer shooters developed by Konami that also made space faring hip with its retro tunes and vibrantly deadly depictions of space battles.…

Pokémon Games Can Be Strange If You’ve Never Played One Before

For the longest time, I’ve wanted to dive into a Pokémon game. I thought the recent release of Sword and Shield would be a good place to start. I’ve played about five hours of Shield, collected a bunch of Pokémon, and beat three gyms. I’m having a lot of fun, but I’m also baffled by…

Clash At Demonhead Is Like Playing A Ridiculously Fun 8-Bit Anime

Clash at Demonhead is 8-bit gaming at its most charmingly eclectic. Developed by Vic Tokai and known as Dengeki Big Bang! in Japan, Clash is a metroidvania-style game with open-world platforming and nonlinear progression through its quirky world. Unlike many of the earlier metroidvania games, it has an anime aesthetic and an intricate plot with…

An Ode To Weird Dreams Inspired By Videogames

Happy Thanksgiving! My name’s Peter Tieryas and I’m your guest writer for the next three days. I covered Thanksgiving two years ago and I’m excited to be back. I’ll be writing about retrogames like Clash at Demonhead and Final Fantasy VIII, ponder the existential meaning of Gradius III and Pokémon, then explore some of our…

What Is Your Favorite Game Sequel?

There are great sequels. And then there are all the crappy ones that seem like little more than cynical cash grabs. I’m going to focus on the former. Sometimes, the best sequels take a classic formula and evolve on them. I loved Final Fantasy II (IV in Japan), Uncharted II, Mass Effect 2, Super Mario…

The Brilliant Use of Verticality in Minish Cap’s Palace of Winds

There are so many great, memorable levels in the Zelda series, from Majora Mask’s Stone Tower Temple to the Arbiter’s Grounds in Twilight Princess. But a level that’s always stayed with me from the series is the Palace of Winds from the Minish Cap.  Developed by Capcom and Flagship, The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap…

A Plague Tale Is One Of The Most Disturbing Games I’ve Played

It’s been so long since a game has truly scared me that A Plague Tale: Innocence caught me completely off guard. Tense, terrifying, and meticulously crafted, Plague Tale excels at making you feel utterly helpless. Set in late 1349 in Aquitaine, France, the medieval setting is one of the game’s strengths, distinguishing itself with the…

Romance Of The Three Kingdoms XIII Is A Flawed, But Addictive, Entry Into The Series

The very first time I was a guest writer for Kotaku, I wrote about Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV, which was my favorite in the series. I’ve played ROTKIV too many times to count as its strategy gaming at its best. I did play many of the games after IV, but missed IX-XII. With…

An Ode To Video Game Pockets

Hi Kotaku! It’s Ben, Narelle, and Peter back as your guest writers for the weekend. We have a variety of articles planned; Narelle will be writing about Breath of the Wild with her sister and some of the fun quests in Dragon Quest Builders 2; Ben shows some love for the Game Boy and Tony…

Hi Kotaku! I’m signing off for the weekend, but wanted to give a big thanks to all the readers for taking the time to read some of my retrospectives and leaving some really cool comments. I learned a bunch and also found some new portable games I want to play! Also, big thanks to the…

What Game Would You Most Like To See Remade?

For the longest time, I’ve been telling people how special Link’s Awakening is. I had to explain that even though it was for the original GameBoy, it’s one of the best Zelda games Nintendo made. Similar to Super Mario Bros. 2, it was part of a dream world, but that was what made the game…

How The Choose Your Own Adventures Of 428: Shibuya Scramble Reminded Me Of My Past

I’ve visited Shibuya before, but never like this. 428: Shibuya Scramble, which was developed for the PlayStation 4 by Chunsoft, released in September 2018 outside Japan. It’s kind of like those old full motion video (FMV) games. But instead of telling the story through badly compressed and grainy video, it uses a series of high…

The Cruel, But Cute, World Of Pikmin

Pikmin is a weird, but beautiful, 2001 game for the Nintendo GameCube where you play as a villainous alien intruder, Captain Olimar. Olimar is from the planet of Hocotate and has crash-landed on a strange planet that has high levels of oxygen. Unfortunately, oxygen is poisonous to the captain and his life support will fail…

Ghost Trick Brilliantly Turned Regret And The Supernatural Into A Game Mechanic

Ghost Trick is what you’d get if the film Ghost met Groundhog Day. Directed by the creator of the Ace Attorney Franchise, Shu Takumi, Ghost Trick makes death a puzzle you can play over and over a la Edge of Tomorrow. The core mystery at the heart of the game is your main character’s death.…