That Time A Player Tricked Everyone Into Thinking You Could Get The Triforce In Ocarina of Time

On February 4th, 1999, one of the greatest hoaxes in video game history began. The Zelda fandom was shock by a player claiming to have found the Triforce in Ocarina of Time. Ariana Almandoz, a gamer from Colombia, had all the details, but she wasn’t quite ready to share them with the world. Through vague…

Games not made by Nintendo are dominating the Nintendo Switch’s latest eshop best-seller list. Even on the indie-stuffed Switch, there are usually one or two Nintendo games high on the list. Right now, the highest is Mario Kart 8 in the 14th spot. It helps that Nintendo has had few major releases of late.

Completionist Speedruns Of Final Fantasy VII Are No Joke

In September of last year, Caleb Hart first streamed a completionist run of Final Fantasy VII. The PS1-era JRPG is notoriously involved, filled with hyper-difficult extra bosses and complicated sidequests. When it released in 1997 it shocked people by being too big to fit on one disc, instead requiring three. In recent weeks though, Hart…

Thoughts From A Destiny 2 Latecomer 

On my PlayStation 4, it’s still the late summer of 2017, because I’m in the early stages of Destiny 2. So far it’s both better and worse than I expected. Some context: I also waited a year to play the first Destiny, which meant I missed out on the Loot Cave, the first disappointing early…

This Is The Best Final Fantasy V Merch

As a well-known appreciator of Final Fantasy V, to the point where I wrote a whole book about it, I love that Japan feels the same way to the point that there’s actually a market for this very specific merch based on this 1992 Super Famicom game. In the grand Japanese tradition of “blind boxes,”…

The Week In Games: Fishing Tale

This is a week of fishing games, beat ‘em ups, and Undertale on the Switch. If you haven’t played Undertale, and you own a Nintendo Switch, then this is your big chance. You can do it! I believe in you. And maybe, just maybe, I can believe in myself, because I also have not played…

Kirby Hats Kirbify Your Cats

Hello, do you love Kirby but hate your cat? Now you can shove your cat’s head into a Kirby-shaped hat, thanks to the miracle of Japanese vending machines. The hats, which your cat is guaranteed to wear for at least three and a half seconds before desperately trying to claw it off, are available in…

Typhoon Blew The “N” Off “Nintendo” [Update]

Yesterday’s typhoon caused destruction throughout Japan’s Kansai region. Some buildings were badly damaged, while others weathered the storm. Nintendo’s Kyoto headquarters took the “N” out of “Nintendo.” Update September 17 – 6:30am: Nintendo has finally gotten its “N” back. See below. This is what the headquarters usually looks like. Here is a tweet from Florent…

New Assassin’s Creed Board Game Has Miniatures, A Campaign And An Ezio Cameo

In 2014, there was an Assassin’s Creed board game that wasn’t that great. In 2018, there’s a new one that will hopefully be a lot better. That first effort, Arena, had its heart in the right place, but was a bit too abstract and poorly-presented to really nail the look and feel of the games.…

Up You Go

Kalen Chock is a concept artist from the USA who has worked for companies like Wavedash and Cryptozoic. You can see more of Kalen’s work at his ArtStation page

Fans Are Trying To Remake Half-Life Using Unreal Engine 4

When I reviewed Half-Life remake Black Mesa back in 2012, I said the project “does not look like a modern video game”. A newer (and far more limited) remake, Project Lambda, does. Where Black Mesa eventually remade the entire game—a big reason it took so long for it to come out—Project Lambda has so far…

Japan wastes zero time: Days after its announcement in the Nintendo Direct, there are already rows of empty New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe boxes lining the shelves at Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara. As expected, Peachette—whatever that is—is a major selling point. And those Joy-Cons in the logo!