While at Jump Festa 2013 this weekend, I had the chance to check out the 3DS remake of Dragon Quest VII. This is a remake of the seventh Dragon Quest game—which was originally released for the PlayStation back in 2000—seems to fit the console’s format very naturally. The graphical upgrade is very pretty and allows…
Jump Festa is a yearly event hosted by Shueisha, the publishers of the Jump line of comics, where Jump-related paraphernalia and games are put on display as well as stage events and announcements. It’s also a good event for companies that have Jump-related things out to display some of their own non-Jump-related things. Tecmo Koei,…
Jump Festa, Shonen Jump’s own convention, is a mix of manga, anime, video games, and card games. There are various events, art galleries, game booths, card tournaments, Jump-themed food stalls, and endless amounts of stage shows. But no matter where you look, there is one thing that permeates the entire show floor: an unending sea…
I guess you could say that I’m a fan of One Piece. I don’t follow the magazine on a week to week basis in Shonen Jump, but I’ve read all of the manga books. I haven’t seen much of the anime, but I’ve watched a good deal of the movies, including the latest one. I…
After the success of Tales of Innocence R in Japan, Bandai-Namco is moving another of last generation’s portable titles over to the PlayStation Vita—this time in the form of Tales of Hearts R. Today at Jump Festa 2013, Kotaku East was able to spend some time with the first playable demo of this Tales series…
Announced back during this year’s Tokyo Game Show, Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMIX is a PS3 HD remaster of Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and its sequel Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories—as well as a collection of CG cutscenes from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. Today at Jump Festa 2013 in Japan, Kotaku East was able to…
Back in June, Bandai-Namco announced that Tales of Xillia, the first Tales game designed specifically for the PS3, would be heading to America, Europe, and Australia in 2013. But while Western fans can do nothing but wait anxiously, Japanese fans have had time to play not only the original game but also its sequel. Tales…
Japan: The birthplace of Mario, Sonic, Final Fantasy, and Street Fighter—just to name a few. Each year scores of games are made and released here. The best of these come to the West—or rather most of the best do. Each year, a few great titles manage to slip through the cracks for whatever reason and…
I love JRPGs. Since discovering them in the sixth grade, I have played dozens upon dozens of them. But my primary reason for playing them has always been the plot—the epic 40-plus-hour adventure. The battle system, on the other hand, has tended to be rather a boring chunk of useless padding—it’s just something that comes…
Dark Souls II, the sequel to the notoriously difficult action RPG, Dark Souls (which was a sequel to the phonetically tongue twisting Demon’s Souls) has been announced for the PS3, the Xbox 360, and the PC. One of the more shocking announcements to fans of the previous games was that director Hidetaka Miyazaki would be…
Satoru Iwata recently apologized for long Wii U load times and updates and promised future improvement. Hooray!
If something is popular enough, you’ll inevitably find a movie version or spinoff of it. More often than not, it’s because some executive is trying to make a quick buck by using the name value to bring people in to see whatever movie they’re selling. While every now and then you’ll find a diamond in…
Freshness Burger is a Japanese burger chain. They make good burgers! “Organic & natural” is the Freshness motto. But with these new burger wrappers, it should be something else. In the past, Freshness Burger has wrapped its burgers in unusual designs, such as Jack-o’-lanterns. These latest wrappers are highly unusual. “The hell is this, it’s…
There’s a first for everything. Until checking out Pyongyang Racer, I’d never played a North Korean developed game. It’s not as bad as I thought it would be. It’s also not very good. To be fair, it is a browser game developed for a British owned travel agency that takes tourists to North Korea. The…
Nintendo’s Wii U is out, and say what you will about the innovative new controller or long loading times, it’s definitely making its mark on the gaming world. In a recent interview on Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun, Shigesato Itoi, creator of the Earthbound series, sat down with the president of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, and executive…
Heads up! Final Fantasy IV is now out on iOS. Yours for US$16 at the Apple Store
When not promoting Patapon 3 or helping people, Japanese comedian Egashira 2:50 has another hobby: whipping out his dick. Now you can bring Egashira’s antics to your desktop or bookshelf with this upcoming posable figure. Part of the Figma line, this Egashira 2:50 action figure is slated for next June and priced at ¥3,800. (Amazon…
In the West, Reddit says it’s the front page of the internet. But in Japan, it’s not. The internet in Japan is dominated by 2channel. It’s where news—whether that’s political or video game news—disseminates. It’s the center of online culture. And apparently, drugs. That’s perhaps why today drug charges were brought against Hiroyuki Nishimura, 2ch’s…
Remember that insane Metal Gear bento? Well, game creator Hideo Kojima decided to use his new game engine, the Fox Engine, to capture the bento, and then have Big Boss hold it. Because if you could, you’d do it, too. Above is the result, courtesy of Kojima’s Twitter Perhaps you think this is a huge…
Hong Kong police are investigating Jackie Chan for saying his life is like something out of, dare I say, an action flick. While speaking with Guangzhou-based magazine Southern People Weekly, Chan recalled how he did something most Hong Kong actors were afraid to: stand up to gangsters by carrying guns and grenades. In that interview…
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