Culture

How Obscure Star Fox Precursor X Got Two English Translations In One Day

While we often think of localizations as the final word in game development, the truth is that language is so fluid and malleable that there’s a good amount of subjectivity in every translation. Such is the case with a groundbreaking Game Boy game from Star Fox creators Argonaut Games, which recently saw both “official” (leaked)…

Final Fantasy XVI’s Trailer Looks Like A Mix Of IX And XII (And That’s Great!)

  One of the biggest surprises of the Sony PS5 event on Wednesday was the reveal of a new main-line Final Fantasy game, the 16th in the series (more like the 36th if you count all the sequels and spinoffs and Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus). Fans of the series are excited, and some…

My Favorite Games From Today’s Game Devs of Color Expo Direct

Ahead of this weekend’s Game Devs of Color Expo, the event released a “direct” vid showcasing games and board games created by folks who will be attending this year’s expo. This is the fifth annual Game Devs of Color Expo and this year the whole thing is online-only due to covid-19. The expo officially starts…

Super Mario 64’s Weird ‘Gay Bowser’ Line Isn’t In Super Mario 3D All-Stars

Super Mario 3D All-Stars landed on Switch today, but with that occasion comes some bad news: Mario no longer says, “So long, gay Bowser!” during the Super Mario 64 boss fights. A travesty, for sure, but there’s a good reason the iconic voice line is missing. The mystery of Mario’s dialogue that has eluded fans…

Why You Can Only Pet One Of Cerberus’ Three Heads In Hades

Among games in which you can pet the dog, Hades faces a unique challenge: The dog—Cerberus, the eternally fearsome hound of hell—has three heads. You might think this would make him thrice as good as the average good boy. You would be correct. However, you can only ever pet one of the heads. It is…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

This weekend is for finally getting temperatures low enough that we can open the windows without instantly being incinerated, and maybe playing through what I’d say is an old favorite if it hadn’t only come out earlier this year. It doesn’t feel like Ori and the Will of the Wisps came for PC and Xbox…

Beyond Good & Evil‘s Creator Leaves Ubisoft But The Sequel Soldiers On

As Beyond Good & Evil creator Michel Ancel departs Ubisoft to work with wildlife, Beyond Good & Evil 2 senior producer Guillaume Brunier assures fans that the sequel has been and remains in good hands, with the aim of showing actual gameplay sometime next year. Michel Ancel is going, off to work on a wildlife…

Spelunky 2 Speedrunner Beats Game On One Point Of Health

Spelunky 2 has been out for less than a week, and while many players (like me) are still fumbling through its depths, others are kicking its ass. The latest world record speedrun clears the game in under four minutes, with the runner doing most of it on one point of health. As spotted by PC…

The Legend of Dragoon’s Sprawling Soundtrack Is What Every Epic JRPG Deserves

Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s new, daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today’s tracks come from The Legend of Dragoon, Sony’s attempt to emulate the prestige JRPG adventures of the late ‘90s. Surprisingly, for all its faults, The Legend of Dragoon (longplay, VGMdb) nailed both depth and…

Sorry, The PS5 Won’t Be Backward Compatible With PS3, PS2 Or PS1 Games

As Kotaku previously reported, the PlayStation 5 will be able to play “99 percent” of the PlayStation 4’s library. But what about PS3 games? Or PS2 and PS1 ones? In an interview with Famitsu, PlayStation exec Jim Ryan was asked about PS4 compatibility, as well as that for the previous PlayStation consoles, going back to…

It’s Like Meat Buns Meet Pancakes

You know meat buns? In Japanese, they’re called nikuman (meat bun) or butaman (pork bun). There are other non-meat versions, like pizza-man and curry-man. Add yet another to that list. Behold, hottokeekiman (ホットケーキまん) or “pancake bun”, or “hotcake bun.” These fluffy buns are filled with butter-flavored paste and syrup. This brainchild is a collaboration between…

Track: Time Warp | Artist: Perfume | Album: Time Warp (single)

2015 Was A Simpler Time

Devin Kraft is an art director and freelance illustrator based in Dallas. You can see more of Devin’s stuff at his personal site and ArtStation page

Hideo Kojima, Please Work With Junji Ito

Horror mangaka Junji Ito is apparently down to work with video game auteur Hideo Kojima if the opportunity presents itself. Those sounds you’re hearing are me furiously typing my demands that Kojima call Ito as soon as possible. During a recent Polygon interview, Ito was asked about his involvement with Silent Hills, the late Konami-era…

Disintegration Released In June, Closing Servers In November

Disintegration, a shooter released earlier this year by V1 Interactive (headed by Marcus Lehto, one of Halo’s creators) tried some interesting stuff, but ultimately couldn’t find much of a fanbase. And so its multiplayer servers are due to shut down just five months later. “We have made the difficult decision to remove Disintegration’s multiplayer modes…

PS5 Pre-Orders Were A Complete Clusterfuck

Yesterday, right after Sony’s big PS5 event, the company announced that pre-orders for the next-gen PlayStation console would “be available starting as early as tomorrow at select retailers.” And then, they weren’t. That’s pretty clear, right? “As early as tomorrow” suggested that some places would have their pre-orders go live on the morning of September…

Let’s Compare Every Xbox Console’s Launch Lineup

New consoles are coming soon and that means people are starting to look at what games will actually be available at launch. Both Microsoft and Sony have finally revealed which games are launching alongside each console in November. Some are disappointed by all the ports and cross-gen games. But is this any different than previous…

Super Mario Galaxy’s Opening Is Still Terrifying

Super Mario 3D All-Stars, launching tomorrow for the Nintendo Switch, gave me the opportunity to revisit a trio of classic video games. It also brought me face to face with what is perhaps the most terrifying opening of any Mario game, wherein Bowser literally carpet bombs the Mushroom Kingdom. As with most games in the…

Transphobic Creator J.K. Rowling ‘Not Involved’ in New Harry Potter Game

Warner Brothers, publisher of the upcoming open-world Harry Potter game Hogwarts Legacy, released an FAQ on the game’s official Discord yesterday. In addition to answering questions about the game’s development and platforms, the FAQ asserts that Rowling, who’s recently drawn criticism for transphobic statements, has no involvement in the game. Teased in yesterday’s PS5 event,…

Xbox Series X, Series S Preorders Open September 22 At 11 A.M. ET

While online preorders for the PlayStation 5 appeared and disappeared sporadically after yesterday’s showcase, Microsoft has provided Kotaku with the specific time we’ll be able to drop hundreds of dollars on its upcoming consoles next Tuesday. Starting at 8 a.m. Pacific, 11 a.m. Eastern on September 22, folks will have a chance at preordering the…