Kotaku East

Final Fantasy Versus XIII Turned into FFXV by a Fashion Label’s Mistake

Ah, the world of fashion! The clothes. The models. The typos? According to Japanese clothing brand Roen, that’s exactly what caused a recent kerfuffle. Back in 2008, Roen announced that it would be making Final Fantasy Versus XIII threads like the game’s protagonists wear. Recently, however, something peculiar was spotted while surfing Roen’s website. On…

Watch how Pokémon Scramble U uses NFC toys. Do it!

Macross 30 is The Best Macross Game Ever Made

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…

Why You Haven’t Seen Any New Macross in the West for Nearly 15 Years

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…

These are the Arcades That Japan Forgot

Welcome to where time came to a standstill. And then, it collapsed in on itself. “Haikyo” (廃墟) is Japanese for “ruins”. Across the country, there are deserted buildings for intrepid urban exploreration. Make no mistake: this is trespassing and even dangerous. These buildings are sealed off for good reason. Haikyo photos typically depict abandoned houses,…

The Korean Game Rating board approved Dungeon & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara for PS3. How mysterious! [T/Y Cat Mario!]

Kingdom Hearts Needs More Scrooge McDuck

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.…

Those Scannable Pokémon Wii U Figures Finally Revealed!

Today, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company unveiled the upcoming near field communication toys for Pokémon Scramble U. Phew, finally! The set includes Bulbasaur, Pikachu, Torchic, Piplup, Lucario, Victini, and one special (or secret) Pokémon. According to The Pokémon Company, this is the “first set”. The official release indicates that there will be more NFC Pocket…

Korea’s Best Cosplayers Take on StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm

Cosplay collective Spiral Cats brought their talents to the recent StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm launch in South Korea. Back when Blizzard’s Diablo III launched in South Korea, Spiral Cats was also on hand at the event, showing off its latest cosplay creations. “I believe that we can project our love for the character…

Square Enix experimented with Final Fantasy Type-0 running on an HDTV. No plans for a release, though! [NovaCrystallis]

Japanese Gamers’ Favorite Games of 2012 Might Surprise You

Japanese people have different tastes from their Western counterparts (Heck, many of Kotaku East‘s Culture Smash columns focus specifically on this sociological difference), and Japanese gamers are no exception. Every week, Japanese gaming magazine Weekly Famitsu collects user impressions of newly released video games. Users rate games from 1 to 10 and comment on what…

Your Guide to Japanese Capsule Hotels

Maybe you are going to Japan. Maybe you’re not, but one day, you hope to. There is an array of options—from fancy hotels and traditional inns to more budget-priced lodging. Or, perhaps, you just missed the last train. You could always stay at a capsule hotel. Capsule hotels debuted in 1979 in Osaka with the…

Japanese Developers Weigh in on the PS4

Last week, Japanese gaming magazine Weekly Famitsu asked their readers what they thought about the PS4. In this week’s issue, the question was lobbed in the direction of many of Japan’s biggest game makers, to get the developer point of view on Sony’s as-of-yet faceless console. Take a look at what some of them had…

Kid Racks Up US$2,500 Debt While Playing an Online Game

A mother got shafted with a whopper credit card bill after her son racked up charges playing an online game, Asahi News reported earlier today. The teen pestered his mom to let him play an online game (Asahi doesn’t specify which). The junior high student and his mom made an agreement that he’d only play…

So, Mega Man Online Has Been Cancelled

Last fall, Kotaku reported that Rockman Online (aka Mega Man Online) seemed like it was dead. Today, we learned that the PC game has, indeed, been canned. The game’s official blog hadn’t been updated since March 2012, leaving many to wonder about the game’s status. Then, last September, the game’s lead artist, Kang Dong Hwa,…

Like music? Live in Tokyo? Unity is teaming up with Hifana for an event next Monday.

Why One DSi Community Is Upset at Nintendo Right Now

So Nintendo is bringing Flipnote Studio to the 3DS. This latest iteration will allow users to create 3D flipnotes and is called, wait for it, Flipnote Studio 3D. But what does this mean for users of the plain old Flipnote Studio? From the sound of it, they’re screwed. In Japan, Nintendo offered two interesting services…

What if Pi from Life of Pi had been stuck with a crab the whole time? Two Chinese students have the answer

Okay, This Bread Really Looks Like Vaginas

The bread is pink. That’s the color of cherry blossoms, and thus, spring in Japan. And the wrapper says the snack is “shaped like cherry blossoms.” Seems innocuous enough, right? But take off the wrapper. Because, as pointed out online in Japan, this doesn’t look like cherry blossoms. It does look like vaginas. This post…

First Look at Drakengard 3

Square Enix is readying a new Drakengard game. Dubbed Drakengard 3 (Drag-On Dragoon 3 or ドラッグオンドラグーン3 in Japanese), the action role-playing game follows the adventures of Zero (ゼロ) and her younger sister named “One” (“Wan” or ワン). Zero, who sports an artificial left hand, has a flower that sprouts from her right eye. Her special…