Dragon Quest XI is a very long game full of tragic twists and turns, so when my journey finally came to an end, it felt like a real accomplishment. The credits rolled. I’d defeated the main villain and brought peace to the land. I actually felt sad that my time with my companions was coming…
There was a time I was obsessed with American urban legends, especially the horror-themed ones. Learning more about their roots and origins, and how a story evolves over time to fit the social mores of its time was fascinating, if terrifying. Death Mark is kind of like a mix track of creepy Japanese urban legends…
The original Castlevania was one of the first NES games I played. So when the sequel came out for the NES in December 1988, I knew I had to play it. Simon’s Quest mixed up the first game’s action-platforming formula and gave players a Metroidvania-style game with RPG mechanics, revolving around a curse that Dracula…
I still have a classic Nintendo DS that even plays the old GBA games, but I only take it out when I go on airplanes. Recently having finished Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations, I turned to Hotel Dusk: Room 215, knowing nothing about the game. I quickly became addicted to the mystery interactive novel developed…
A mix of The Legend of Zelda and the works of Hayao Miyazaki, Crystalis was an incredible action RPG for the NES whose surprisingly complex story helped elevate it above many of its peers. It’s also one of the games I most fondly recall from my childhood, so re-playing it on the SNK 40th Anniversary…
Hi Kotaku readers, that’s it for me today! Thanks so much for letting me share my love for some retro and modern games, as well as sharing some personal stories about fatherhood. I was also pleasantly surprised that so many readers had enjoyed Herzog Zwei! I hope I can play some of you in online Herzog…
I like zombie games. I like open world experiences. Mixing them together gives you The Evil Within 2 Sebastian Castellanos’s plunge back into the shared reality of STEM takes you into a Twin Peakesque town called Union that is as distorted as your fractured psyche. There’s a killer photographer on the loose who’s murdering his…
There are too many amazing JRPGs in the 16-bit era to crown one the best. But there is a pantheon that includes classics like Final Fantasy IV through VI, Chrono Trigger, Terranigma, Breath of Fire, and the Phantasy Star games. Phantasy Star IV for the Sega Genesis was easily the best JRPG on the system,…
Playing the Resident Evil 2 remake has been incredible. It’s also made me pine for a new installment in another one of my favorite horror series, Silent Hill. I know Silent Hills would have been that new installment, but as that’s cancelled, I’ve been going back and playing some of the older Silent Hill games.…
When I was growing up in the 80s, many of the adults around me were disparaging towards video games, considering them a bad influence that detracted from school work. I don’t want to over-generalize, but many of my friends were, like myself, Asian-American, and their parents wanted them to pursue more “serious” careers like becoming…
The life of an NPC is tough. Perpetually stuck with one or two interesting things to say. Trapped in houses or stores, or making idle chatter around the town’s well. The most excitement that may happen is when the troublesome village kid runs off. But don’t worry, the protagonists will save them. Oh, but what’s…
I learned about survival horror from the first Resident Evil, and loved how Resident Evil 2 took that to the next level with a city full of zombies after your neck. When I loaded up the recent Resident Evil 2 remake on my PlayStation 4, it felt like revisiting an old friend, if that old…
I was always a fan of the Risk board game as a kid, and Herzog Zwei was kind of like Risk if you infused real time action, mechas, and intense futuristic tank battles. An obscure gem for the Sega Genesis, it released in 1990 from Technosoft and happens to be one of the best strategy…
I’ve been waiting a long time for the Alita:Battle Angel movie, which is based on the Gunnm manga series by Yukito Kishiro. I fell in love with the nine-volume epic, which was called Battle Angel Alita in its English versions, when I first discovered the series in high school. I’m going through the books again,…
Dark Souls, Battletoads, Ninja Gaiden, and Cuphead wear their difficulty as a badge of pride. They crush souls and spirits alike, and results in a lot of fatigued fingers. Playing them feels like Groundhog Days of death; Live, Die, Repeat, and Repeat! Sometimes it’s about memorization, recognizing patterns, knowing where random enemies spawn, like in…
When I think of the toughest games of my childhood, the Ghosts ‘n Goblins series from Capcom immediately comes to mind. They’re unforgivingly difficult, taunting you at each corner with a thousand deaths. Arthur’s armor gets shredded by every moving object and even upgraded weapons offer little protection. What’s worse is that you have to…
My wife and I look forward to playing each of David Cage’s games. There were parts of Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls, and Indigo Prophecy that we found fascinating, weaving a unique experience unlike any other. With Detroit: Become Human, I had avoided all articles so I could go in with a fresh perspective. I…
Because it changes up so much of what we’ve come to consider the traditonal Zelda formula, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is often considered the black sheep in the series. But I loved the switch to a side-scrolling action RPG with towns and NPCs. The story of how I played Zelda II is closely…
Playing a main series Dragon Quest game is a serious time investment. I’ve finished half of them, and the last three I played (V, VII, and VIII) each required almost 100 hours. But there’s something special about the games that director Yuji Horii is involved with, whether it’s the Dragon Quest games, Chrono Trigger, or…
I finally finished Persona 5. It took us about 90 hours (I played with my wife) but it was worth every minute. Each of the characters had a compelling arc and I felt their friendship get closer with every palace infiltration. The climactic reveal in Shibuya had me cheering for them. The music was brilliant…
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