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Kotaku EastWatch Us Play Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
Have you been wondering what a game filled with cute versions of your favorite Persona 3 and 4 characters plays like? Well wonder no longer. We’ve got you covered. Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth is a spinoff Persona RPG that plays a lot like the Etrian Odyssey series of games—which is no surprise as…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published June 17, 2014 - Kotaku East
How to Identify Anime and Manga Genres
We’ve looked at the basic types of anime out there but now it’s time to look at the specific genres. Of course, I assume everyone knows what “fantasy” and “romance” are, but what about those genres that don’t really exist in the West outside of anime and manga—or those that don’t even use English words?…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published June 17, 2014 -
UncategorizedEating Mushrooms Would Have Horrible Effects On Mario In Real Life
Pete Holmes‘ latest clip puts poor Mario into the painful situation we all probably joked about before: Filling yourself with mushrooms in a realistic Mushroom Kingdom would have different effects, and it would be a nightmare. Scroll to the 44 second mark for the worst part of his trip. It’s brutal. Realistic Mario: Mushrooms [Pete…
By Gergo Vas Published June 17, 2014 - Kotaku East
Chinese Students Delight the Internet with Graduation Photos
New grads at Shandong University in China decided they wanted to do something fun and memorable. They most certainly did. The students shared their graduation Photoshops on Weibo, China’s microblogging service. The images have recently spread to sites like NetEase—and now, all throughout Chinese cyberspace. Popular Chinese and foreign movies, video games, and television shows…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 17, 2014 -
Kotaku EastPersona Q‘s Battle Music Refuses to Leave My Head
I played a lot of Persona Q this past weekend, but let me say, I loved every moment I spent in battle—though not because of the (perfectly adequate) battle system. What I really loved was the game’s awesome battle theme. The song, “Light the Fire Up in the Night,” has everything I want in a…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published June 17, 2014 -
Kotaku EastReal-Life Sword Art Online Blade Cuts Watermelons, Not Bosses
Sword Art Online is a smart anime about people trapped in an MMORPG. Now, MMORPGs have swords. Elaborate, pretty, deadly swords. Like the Elucidator, which blacksmith Tony Swatton was kind enough to bring into our world. Kirito’s unique obsidian blade was then, as it is customary, used to slash apart all kinds of items from…
By András Neltz Published June 17, 2014 - Kotaku East
Amazon Japan Has Doubled Its Goats
Last summer, Amazon Japan hired a stable of goats to manicure its lawn. This year, it is hiring even more. According to Hatena News, Amazon has hired double its goat capacity—now, there are between thirty and forty of them. The goats wear employee i.d. cards while working, which consists of grazing all day. The goats…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 17, 2014 -
Kotaku EastBest New Sport: Throwing $5,000 Computers
Throwing the hammer or the javelin might have made sense in ancient times, but we don’t live in ancient times. We live in the modern times with modern things to chuck around. You know, like computer servers. Recently, tech company Speedlink Japan held its Engineer Olympic Games in Tokyo. The point of the competition is…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 17, 2014 - Kotaku East
Destiny Is a PlayStation Exclusive in Japan
In the West, upcoming shooter Destiny is a multiplatform game. In Japan, it’s not. It’s a PlayStation exclusive, Sony announced today. Instead of getting an Xbox 360 and Xbox One release like it will abroad, the game is exclusive to the PlayStation 3 and the PS4 when it’s released in Japan on September 11. It’s…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 17, 2014 - Kotaku East
China’s Personal Bodyguard Training Seems Ridiculously Intense
Bodyguards, the often terrible henchmen found in video games and movies, are very important in real life. These men and women protect their charges with the utmost severity. In China, professional bodyguards take their jobs seriously. Just take a look at their intense training! Originally published on China News’ photo page, these images of would-be…
By Eric Jou Published June 17, 2014 -
Kotaku EastThe Sex Lube Olympics Sure Looks Slippery
This weekend, the Sex Lube Grand Atheletic Meet was held in Tokyo. Covered in lotion, folks competed in a handful of events. The competition looked rather stiff! According to blogger Dutch, who participated in this year’s meet, over a hundred people participated in this subculture event. In Japanese, sex lube is called “lotion” (ローション or…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 17, 2014 - CultureCosplay
Laura Sánchez as Morrigan from Dragon Age. Photo by Jesús Clares
By Luke Plunkett Published June 17, 2014 -
CultureBlizzard & Final Fantasy’s Awesome Cutscenes Have One Thing In Common
Takuya Suzuki, formerly of Square Enix, has worked at Blizzard since 2009 on the company’s famous cinematics team. Currently Cinematic Senior Modeling Artist, he’s done a lot of the background work on the trailers for games like StarCraft II, Diablo III, World of Warcraft and the upcoming Heroes of the Storm. While at Square, he…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 16, 2014 - Uncategorized
$600 Chocobo Looks Like Something A Fox Would Eat
At the right angle, this replica Final Fantasy chocobo looks real. For over $600, though, it had want to! Built by MiraCrafts in Germany, each chocobo is made entirely by hand out of stuff like fur, felt and glass. They’re also “Size fitting for actionfigures!”, which is about where I start reaching for my McFarlane…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 16, 2014 -
UncategorizedImproving Half-Life 2 Through Animation (And Slapstick)
Half-Life 2 is starting to show its age, which is fine, because it is ten years old. Not that this will stop us looking at this animation video and wondering what it would look like with some more modern touches. This animation reel is the work of James Benson, someone who we actually featured a…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 16, 2014 -
UncategorizedA Children’s Choir Was The Best Part Of The Game of Thrones Finale
Last night’s Game of Thrones season finale had some ups and downs—plenty more ups than downs, in my opinion—but I hope we can all agree that the music stole the show. *** Spoilers follow! *** As much as I enjoyed several big scenes in last night’s episode—chief among them the brutal throwdown between Brienne of…
By Kirk Hamilton Published June 16, 2014 -
UncategorizedWhat Darth Vader’s Most Famous Line Sounds Like In 16 Languages
It’s one of the most iconic lines in cinema history, but if you’re reading this website the odds are high you’ve only ever heard it said in English. Let’s change that. This clip features a few duplicates (from different recordings of the movie), but covers everything from Japanese to Portuguese to Hungarian. If you’re the…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 16, 2014